Concept
Variable Rewards
Variable rewards are payoffs that arrive unpredictably, which keep a behaviour going more strongly than fixed ones; Nir Eyal sorts them into rewards of the tribe (social), the hunt (resources and information) and the self (mastery and completion).
The idea is older than Hooked. B. F. Skinner's work on reinforcement showed that unpredictable rewards sustain behaviour more than predictable ones, and Eyal adds that much of the pull lies in anticipation, while the outcome is still unknown. His contribution is the three kinds and two conditions: a reward has to fit the reason the user came, and the user has to keep a sense that the choice is theirs. The common mistake is to add points and badges to a product people use to get work done. They answer a craving nobody had. Variability is also the part of the model closest to gambling, so the honest version gives the user an easy place to stop.
A real-life example
A recipe community in Gaziantep replaces points for comments with a single notification: someone has cooked your recipe and posted a photo. That reward of the tribe fits why members come, to see their cooking matter to others. Comments fall, but members begin sharing recipes again, and a monthly page of the most-cooked dishes gives the feed a natural end.
How to use it
- 1Name why people use your product, then decide which of the three kinds of reward answers that reason.
- 2Remove rewards that answer a craving nobody had, such as points on a work tool.
- 3Give every variable feed a natural end, so users can stop once they have what they came for.