As described in The Kurt Lewin EquationThe Kurt Lewin Equation
Kurt Lewin’s equation, B=f(P,E), states that a person’s behavior is a function of who they are as a person and the contextual factors of their environment.
Kurt Lewin’s Equation is commonly misunderstood as saying B=P+E. This is lazy behavioral science.
The combination of the two factors is not a summation. Behavior is a function of the interplay between person-side factors and the contextual factors of their environment.
Who the person is impacts how they respond to environmental factor..., people’s behavior is influenced by the relationship between who they are and the context of their situation. While the user is paying attention, the app controls a portion of the user’s digital context. As such, app design exerts significant influence over user behavior, whether you designed it intentionally with this purpose in mind or not.
The large majority of behavioral science research can effectively be summarized as “here’s how this environmental factor impacts people’s behavior.” Usually there will be existing research and behavioral theory that gives us better mental models through which to make product decisions.
The crux at the center of effective Behavioral Product StrategyBehavioral Product Strategy
The way a product is designed shapes the way that people use it. Every app is designed for behavior change, intentionally or unintentionally, so the questions that drive behavioral product strategy must be addressed. User Involvement is a set of metrics whose success is defined by the combination of user behaviors that contribute towards creating a desirable outcome. Behavioral product strategy is making product decisions to influence user behavior and improve user involvement.
It doesn't ma... is that you need to understand how behavior works in order to intentionally form interactions between your software and your users. You are always designing for behavior change, so being aware of your influence reduces risk and creates new opportunities.
Game designers have been designing for digital behavior change for longer than just about anyoneGame designers have been designing for digital behavior change for longer than just about anyone
Games have long recognized the truth that comes from The Kurt Lewin Equation:
The player is interacting with the in-game world in order to get what they want and further their goals.
Game thoughtfully designs rules and interactions to influence how you get what you want
As such, they The goal of game design is to influence user behavior to create an intended experience. People need to play games in certain ways to make the game fun for themselves, so games are designed for behavior ch..., so they have some suggestions for how to handle this.