Chris Lewis

On May 5, 2013, Graduating PhD candidate in Computer Science at UCSC, Chris Lewis came onto Artist on Art to talk about his studies & research of “Motivational Design” and the intersection between computer science and psychology.

Chris’ research delves into the psychology literature of motivation theory, to try and find the answers to these questions, and help software designers to make more engaging software. In the process, he’s learning about   psychology, motivational behavioral and pattern in design in popular applications to create a software where getting a task done is less important than ensuring that the user comes back tomorrow.

Chris‘s thesis, Motivational Design, presents his understanding into a framework and library of twenty-seven {motivational design patterns}, under the categories of gameful, social, interface and information. Theories and experimental results from motivational psychology, behavioral psychology and behavioral economics are used to explain the power of different design patterns and suggest optimal implementations. Additionally, a set of eight dark patterns are presented. These patterns promise short-term gains, but at the expense of long-term motivational harm, and strategies to avoid their use are proposed.

To hear our interview, please click on the grey button below:

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