Behavioral Change Through Games: Keep It Simple, Specific, and Realistic<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tThis blog was written by Annebeth Erdbrink. We asked her to write a guest blog based on her PhD research at the Faculty of Technology, Policy, and Management at Delft University of Technology. The blog is full of surprising findings from her research and valuable insights for game designers: <\/em><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tThe Gap Between Words and Actions<\/b><\/h3>\n
Global issues related to energy and climate, biodiversity, and food\u2014as well as peace and security\u2014often require a collective change in behavior. In addition to legislation and pricing, communication also plays an important role in this regard. Public campaigns such as \u201cEveryone Does Their Part\u201d (Dutch Government, 2019) encourage people to make sustainable choices. But in practice, it often proves difficult to actually achieve this. The so-called <\/span>attitude-behavior gap <\/span><\/i>plays a persistent role in this: you think it\u2019s important, but in the end, you don\u2019t do anything about it. <\/span> <\/p>\nAccording to the popular <\/span>Theory of Planned Behavior<\/span><\/i> (Ajzen, 1991) states that the intention to take action is the most direct determinant of a person\u2019s behavior. Stronger intentions could therefore narrow the gap between saying and doing. Games can help with this and are therefore increasingly being used to highlight the importance of a sustainable society. <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\ud83d\udc50 The Behavioral Impact of Games<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tBehavioral interventions that focus solely on increasing knowledge often have little effect. What makes games so appealing is their interactive nature. Players experience choices and connect with the values and attitudes that underlie the intention to take action. Games can create personal experiences, making social issues that sometimes seem overwhelming and distant become understandable and relevant. As a result, they can also be an effective tool for reaching skeptics. <\/span><\/p>\nIn an ideal game, the message is woven into the content without any explicit attempts to persuade the player, because that can backfire. You want players, as it were, to convince themselves to do certain things differently in their daily lives after playing the game. For example, making their homes more sustainable or buying less fast fashion. But what else must a game do to actually achieve that potential behavioral impact? <\/span><\/p>\nIn recent decades, more and more game researchers have been exploring this question. Because despite the increasing use of games to influence attitudes and behavior ( <\/span>persuasive games<\/span><\/i>) the results of impact studies often do not yet seem convincing. Such studies often only examine whether a game \u201cworks\u201d as a whole. While this certainly yields interesting insights, it says little about the underlying impact of games. To learn more about this, it is important to examine the effects of specific features of games. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/evrgreenstudio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/OmTafel_Header_Foto.webp\" "\\"OmTafel_Header_Photo\\"")
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\ud83d\udcca Research Using Case Studies<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tMotivated by the importance of collective behavioral change and inspired by the versatility of games, I used various case studies to investigate how games that promote a sustainable society can have a positive effect on players\u2019 behavior after playing such a game. Using online questionnaires administered before and after a gaming session, we measured, among other things, the extent to which players\u2019 attitudes, subjective norms (the perception of how most people behave), perceived control (the degree of control you feel over your behavior), and sense of responsibility had increased as a result of the game, and how this related to any minor behavioral changes. In addition, interviews were conducted to gather insights into players\u2019 experiences during the game and to receive further feedback. <\/span><\/p>\nThe studies varied considerably in terms of subject matter, format, player types, and setting: from a mobile game about active listening for students and a board game about veganism to a cybersecurity training program for management staff. Existing games were adapted, and new games were also developed for the study. Despite the differences among the games used and the limitations that researchers inevitably face, the study has yielded interesting results for future research. At the same time, it also aims to be useful in practice by offering concrete guidance for game designers. <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\ud83d\udcdd Tips for Game Designers<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n- A game should never be designed with the expectation that it can bring about a complete change in behavior. That\u2019s not realistic. Focusing on small, concrete changes, however, does have a good chance of success (e.g., \u201clocking the screen every time the computer is left unattended\u201d). To that end, it makes sense to try to strengthen players\u2019 knowledge, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived control, and sense of responsibility. Focus on what seems most relevant to the desired behavior. <\/span><\/span>\n
<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- The game\u2019s content must reflect reality. This may seem obvious, but it\u2019s often underestimated. Game scenarios must be relatable to players (think of co-creation) and just as \u201csmall and concrete\u201d as what you want to achieve outside the game. <\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- Take the time and care to conduct a thorough <\/span>debrief<\/span><\/i>; an indispensable link between the gaming world and everyday life. This is the moment when players reflect on their behavior in both of those worlds. What\u2019s more, interesting discussions often arise, and players can inspire one another. <\/span><\/span><\/span>\n
<\/p>\n<\/li>\n
- As a supplement to the debrief, the use of promises (e.g., \u201cI\u2019m not going to eat cheese for a week\u201d) can encourage players to actually take action after an \u201caha moment.\u201d However, players must be completely free to choose which promise they make, to whom they make it (including themselves), and whether they want to make it at all. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/evrgreenstudio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Infographic_Steps_Empty.png\" "\\"Infographic_Steps_Empty\\"")
<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\tIf your game ultimately does what you want it to, that\u2019s great, of course. But you just don\u2019t know to what extent players will stick with their \u201cnew\u201d behavior. You can assume that a seed has been planted, but it might not get enough water to keep growing. To increase the likelihood of a lasting effect, it\u2019s therefore advisable to use games as part of larger and longer-term interventions. That way, the small steps taken might gradually become bigger and bigger. <\/span><\/p>\nIn short, games can make a valuable contribution to behavioral interventions, provided you take a number of factors into account. <\/span>I therefore hope that my research<\/span> provides inspiration for successfully using games to help build a sustainable society. The key seems to be keeping things small, concrete, and realistic. <\/span><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t![\"Profile](\"https:\/\/evrgreenstudio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/ProfilePic_AnnebethErdbrink.webp\" "\\"ProfilePic_AnnebethErdbrink\\"")
<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tAnnebeth Erdbrink<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\tAnnebeth Erdbrink (1984) studied Psychology and Game Studies (University of Amsterdam) and will soon receive her Ph.D. with her dissertation <\/span>Game Design for a Sustainable Society \u2013 Improving the Behavioral Impact of Persuasive Games <\/span><\/i>(Delft University of Technology). <\/span> <\/p>\nWould you like to learn more about her research or get advice on developing a game concept? Please contact her at <\/span>LinkedIn<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t
This blog was written by Annebeth Erdbrink. We asked her to write a guest blog based on her PhD research at the Faculty of Technology, Policy, and Management at Delft University of Technology. The blog is full of surprising findings from her research and valuable insights for game designers: <\/em><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div> Global issues related to energy and climate, biodiversity, and food\u2014as well as peace and security\u2014often require a collective change in behavior. In addition to legislation and pricing, communication also plays an important role in this regard. Public campaigns such as \u201cEveryone Does Their Part\u201d (Dutch Government, 2019) encourage people to make sustainable choices. But in practice, it often proves difficult to actually achieve this. The so-called <\/span>attitude-behavior gap <\/span><\/i>plays a persistent role in this: you think it\u2019s important, but in the end, you don\u2019t do anything about it. <\/span> <\/p>\n According to the popular <\/span>Theory of Planned Behavior<\/span><\/i> (Ajzen, 1991) states that the intention to take action is the most direct determinant of a person\u2019s behavior. Stronger intentions could therefore narrow the gap between saying and doing. Games can help with this and are therefore increasingly being used to highlight the importance of a sustainable society. <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div> Behavioral interventions that focus solely on increasing knowledge often have little effect. What makes games so appealing is their interactive nature. Players experience choices and connect with the values and attitudes that underlie the intention to take action. Games can create personal experiences, making social issues that sometimes seem overwhelming and distant become understandable and relevant. As a result, they can also be an effective tool for reaching skeptics. <\/span><\/p>\n In an ideal game, the message is woven into the content without any explicit attempts to persuade the player, because that can backfire. You want players, as it were, to convince themselves to do certain things differently in their daily lives after playing the game. For example, making their homes more sustainable or buying less fast fashion. But what else must a game do to actually achieve that potential behavioral impact? <\/span><\/p>\n In recent decades, more and more game researchers have been exploring this question. Because despite the increasing use of games to influence attitudes and behavior ( <\/span>persuasive games<\/span><\/i>) the results of impact studies often do not yet seem convincing. Such studies often only examine whether a game \u201cworks\u201d as a whole. While this certainly yields interesting insights, it says little about the underlying impact of games. To learn more about this, it is important to examine the effects of specific features of games. <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div> Motivated by the importance of collective behavioral change and inspired by the versatility of games, I used various case studies to investigate how games that promote a sustainable society can have a positive effect on players\u2019 behavior after playing such a game. Using online questionnaires administered before and after a gaming session, we measured, among other things, the extent to which players\u2019 attitudes, subjective norms (the perception of how most people behave), perceived control (the degree of control you feel over your behavior), and sense of responsibility had increased as a result of the game, and how this related to any minor behavioral changes. In addition, interviews were conducted to gather insights into players\u2019 experiences during the game and to receive further feedback. <\/span><\/p>\n The studies varied considerably in terms of subject matter, format, player types, and setting: from a mobile game about active listening for students and a board game about veganism to a cybersecurity training program for management staff. Existing games were adapted, and new games were also developed for the study. Despite the differences among the games used and the limitations that researchers inevitably face, the study has yielded interesting results for future research. At the same time, it also aims to be useful in practice by offering concrete guidance for game designers. <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div> <\/p>\n<\/li>\n <\/p>\n<\/li>\n <\/p>\n<\/li>\n <\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div> If your game ultimately does what you want it to, that\u2019s great, of course. But you just don\u2019t know to what extent players will stick with their \u201cnew\u201d behavior. You can assume that a seed has been planted, but it might not get enough water to keep growing. To increase the likelihood of a lasting effect, it\u2019s therefore advisable to use games as part of larger and longer-term interventions. That way, the small steps taken might gradually become bigger and bigger. <\/span><\/p>\n In short, games can make a valuable contribution to behavioral interventions, provided you take a number of factors into account. <\/span>I therefore hope that my research<\/span> provides inspiration for successfully using games to help build a sustainable society. The key seems to be keeping things small, concrete, and realistic. <\/span><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div> Annebeth Erdbrink (1984) studied Psychology and Game Studies (University of Amsterdam) and will soon receive her Ph.D. with her dissertation <\/span>Game Design for a Sustainable Society \u2013 Improving the Behavioral Impact of Persuasive Games <\/span><\/i>(Delft University of Technology). <\/span> <\/p>\n Would you like to learn more about her research or get advice on developing a game concept? Please contact her at <\/span>LinkedIn<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\tThe Gap Between Words and Actions<\/b><\/h3>\n
\ud83d\udc50 The Behavioral Impact of Games<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\ud83d\udcca Research Using Case Studies<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\ud83d\udcdd Tips for Game Designers<\/h2><\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>
\n
<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>Annebeth Erdbrink<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t