Motivation and emotion/Book/2024/Fogg behaviour model

Fogg behaviour model:
How can it be applied to understanding and changing behaviour?

Multimedia presentation (3 min)

Overview

Case study Figure 1. The BeReal Application Logo BeReal is a photo-sharing social media application (Figure1) that allows users to upload a photo taken within a 2 minute time period and share it among friends. The design is prompted to “show their friends who they really are, for once,” by taking away the chance to edit or add filters. This captures an insight on what others are up to in different points in time. The BeReal app incorporated the Fogg behaviour model in persuasive technology as well as product design. All 3 areas are encapsulated Trigger – A notification appears every day at different time, even if you miss the initial time period more notifications come after a period of time to further remind you. Ability – The user interface is very easy to use as in the click of one button a front facing photo (selfie) and a photo from the back camera are taken simultaneously Motivation – This an easy way to connect with friends on a social media platform in a short amount of time. BeReal also allows users to connect with celebrities and share songs all within the same app.

Figure 2. The Fogg Behaviour Model Graph

The Fogg behaviour model (FBM) (Figure 2) produces an understanding for human behaviour and how its anticipated / created with 3 key principals, these include Motivation, ability and triggers (Fogg, 2009). Furthermore, these categories are split into subcomponents, Motivation can be influenced by pleasure / pain, hope / fear and acceptance / rejection, Ability is all about simplicity so time, money, physical effort all factor into this with brain cycles, social deviance and non-routine. Triggers are categories into sparks , facilitators and signals.

In conjunction these three areas can influence behaviour to shift in many facets such as building habits, Consumer behaviour, the design of persuasive technology and building public policy, these industries heavily aided the use of FBM for a multitude of reasons. The FBM’s simple design and message makes it easy for people to adapt and effetely incorporate it into what they wanting to achieve. Generally, this can be adopted if (1) In order for a behaviour to occur the person needs to be adequately motivated,(2) the person can perform the behaviour In full secession and (3) a trigger that the person can respond to do the behaviour.

Figure 3. The Fogg behaviour model equation

The graph shows an ideal depiction of how the behaviour will have a favourable outcome. Thus an acceptable behaviour will only occur if little ability is needed in combination with high level of motivation and a an effective trigger that the person can act upon. If a more challenging behaviour is bestowed upon them one of the 3 principals will be altered.

“Behaviour happens when Motivation, Ability, and a Prompt come together at the same time. When a behaviour does not occur, at least one of those three elements is missing.” – Fogg

The Fogg behaviour Model (FBM)was theorised by Dr. BJ Fogg who is behavioural scientist at Stanford university. Fogg's early work was in persuasive technology then he transitioned into the health habits of humans and how they are maintained.

Focus questions: What is the Fogg behaviour model? How can the Fogg behaviour model be used in persuasive technologies / social media? How can it benefit individuals using this method?

What is the Fogg behaviour model?

The FBM makes it easier to understand behaviour on a general scale. It was developed on the prominent psychosocial and cognitive theories (e.g., behaviorist learning principles (Skinner, 1938), social cognitive theory (Bandura, 1999), cognitive dissonance theory (Festinger, 1957),it further considers persuasive design techniques (Mallawaarachchi et al., 2023). The FBM encompassed 3 core principals of motivation, ability and triggers. The principles coming together allow for favourable behaviour to occur. The principles can intertwine in a various number of ways to achieve a good result for example, if motivation is high, the ability of the task can be low. Allowing for persuasive technologies to cleverly use this to their advantage. The world is full of persuasion, everywhere you look, something as simple as walking into a grocery store, or talking to a friend. These simple moments can influence your behaviour.

The 3 main principals are listed below along with their subcomponents.

Motivation

Motivation within the FBM is very important as behaviour should align with the motivation, yet it must be made very clear, so the individual can change in a promptly matter. At least one of the 3 subcategories of pleasure / pain, hope / fear or social acceptance / rejection should be targeted to ensure motivation a closer sense of individualisation to the consumer. Common motivators in persuasive technologies are more targeted extrinsically as a reward can be seen or something to work towards. The value (Schwartz, 1992) and goal framing (Linden burg, 2001) theories were explored while creating the FBM.

Pleasure / Pain

The pleasure and pain aspect of motivation acts as an immediate response to the behaviour without any thinking behind it. Eg. exercising with energising music may make exercising more pleasurable to perform)

Hope / Fear

The hope and fear aspect encompasses the anticipation of what the behaviour result will be. This is the very present among everyday behaviour e.g. fear of getting a flu shot. E.g. hope joining a dating a site. Hope is most like the most ethical an empowering motivator

Social Acceptance / Rejection

This one is very individualised as every person has, they own concept of what is socially acceptable. People are more motivated to be seen as a winner in society but do everything they can to avoid being rejected. Social media has heavily influenced many people to buy products, try a new workout routine or try something new. Humans like to be a part of groups that accept them .

Ability

The ability principal of FBM address how the behaviour can be performed. Five subcomponents of apply to the ability principle these are, time, money, physical effort, brin cycles, social deviance, and non-routine. The Simplicity of the behaviour is one of the biggest factors of getting a behaviour done. Yet training and teaching in a work perspective isn’t that helpful (Fogg, 2009). In persuasive design the behaviour is usually easier to do, for example, 1 click shopping. The behaviour that is wanted needs to be inclusive of everyone, so anyone is capable.

Time

One of the biggest factors from to prevent a behaviour being performed. It needs to be simple and quick.

• How often the excuse of time is used?

Money

If money is required for a behaviour to be carried it may be an issue for those in low socio-economic areas. Yet wealthy individual can use money to make tasks easier. In persuasive technology a wide array of individuals “simplicity” should be evaluated

Physical Effort

If an exertion is needed for a behaviour may not considered simple enough for some people.

Brain Cycles

Thinking hard for a long time on one behaviour isn’t the nicest feeling when many other things may be on someone’s mind. Individuals all have different brain capacity to hold or release information

Social Deviance

Similar to social acceptance this one is for going against the norms even if the behaviour requires something outside the usual .

Non-routine

An easy to implement behaviour can be helpful for those who follow routine and can be flexible but if it can’t fit oats not that simple for people to adapt to

• What are “easy” things that can be added to a routine ?

Trigger

The core principle of trigger is very important as it’s a call to action or prompt that the consumer knows it time to perform the behaviour. The three subcategories of spark, facilitator and signal act as different types of triggers that all have a different purpose. In persuasive technologies one of these can be used or a combination of all 3 to ensure the message is getting to the consumer in a timely manner. An activation / call to action sign is very helpful for people to keep going with the behaviour or something to come backater.

Spark

This is for those who lack motivation, it help to try to tailor the message just to them. Persuasive technology use positive sparks to uplift others (forms of pleasure, sense of hope and social acceptance)

Facilitator

This trigger is for those who ack ability to do the behaviour effectively by making it more approachable to those who have forgotten or feeling doubt e.g “make a delicious dessert with items you have on hand.”

Signal

This acts as friendly reminder, this is targeted towards those who have a motivation and ability to complete the behaviour. An ordinary example of a signal is a traffic light that turns red or green. The traffic light is not trying to motivate me.; it simply indicates when a behaviour is appropriate.

Quiz

How can the Fogg behaviour model be used in persuasive technologies / social media?

Case Study - Duolingo Duolingo is a language learning platform (Figure 4 ) that has executed the Fogg behaviour model very efficiently for the user to have a fun and interactive experience while learning a language. Motivation - The hope/fear aspect of motivation is tapped into as the hope of learning a new language is very prevalent. Earning points with the hope of leveling up and being competitive are all motivators to become better. Ability - The way a user learns the language is by participating in easy lessons that can be performed anytime and all you need is a phone to complete the exercise. Triggers - Daily prompts help remind you do another lesson or two to further your knowledge and keep you streak going while learning.

The FBM is widely used in persuasive technologies and in social media and marketing strategies in a positive way.

In the 21^st century more and more these days you see children having their heads buried in smart devices, with over a third of Australian aged between 3 -6 having access to a smart device (Rhodes, 2017 ) which can be problematic in some cases. A study by Mallawaarachchi et al., 2023 asses 132 free and paid apps to depict the FBM persuasive features carried by each. This resulted a widespread presence of passive motivational features such as music and vibrant colours. The ability aspect was quite inclusive with many repetitive tasks and in game suggestions. Triggers were more prevalent in free apps for in-app purchases compared to paid apps. The FBM model has been used effectively. Gamification is highly used and defined as “ adding game mechanics into nongame environments, like a website, online community, learning management system or business' intranet to increase participation”. This links with FBM as a user engagement model, AlMarshedi et al. (2016) and Muntean (2011) found that it had a positive influence on consumers, epically in the health and e-learning space. Although it is aimed at positive engagement behaviours it also feasible that it can promote behavioural that require excessive engagement levels (Mallawaarachchi et al., 2023).

Figure 5. The AIS{[explain}} survey

In the health space FBM has predominantly been used in health inventions in high income countries (Boerger et al.,2018; Kemler & Gouttebarge, 2018) as its easier to for the FBM to apply to. In lower income-countries has not been executed as highly. Agha et al. (2019) put the FBM into use in order to assess the social marketing campaign of condom use on Pakistan. The impact was assessed though a ‘very in your face’ marketing campaign with Touch Condoms with the first instalment being a long advertisement, then a shorter advertisement during a cricket tournament. Then an AIS (Advertising Impact survey) (Figure 4) was sent out to hundreds of married men in Urban Pakistan to help establish a motivation and ability level, the trigger was the advertisement . This resulted in condom use being 34 times higher in men who had a high motivation and high ability compared to those with low motivation and low ability. Moreover, The trigger did lead to a higher level of motivation. This is supported by previous research that states that having easy access to condoms will help the adoption of successful condom uptake. (Carvalho et al., 2014; Charania et al., 2011).

Following the health sector during the COVID-19 lockdown it was obviously a lot harder to access doctors, health services and access family planning providers (Nanda et al., 2020). Ability was also very limited during this time as income was strained. A lower access to contraception was apparent yet this led to an opportunity to improve contraceptive social marketing in Nigeria (Meekers et al., 2020). The effects of family planning can deter if COVID-19 makes people relucent to visit or use contraception without the proper knowledge. The FBM was implemented to help create a structure to ensure this was being rolled out efficiently. Motivation was increased with DKT Nigeria call centre creating a youth-friendly website that is accessible to all along with a strong social media presence on Facebook, X, YouTube and Instagram. The social media also acted a trigger that helps reminds individuals. Accessibility was made easier for women during the lockdown period they were allowed to travel in order to obtain family planning services. The FBM allows DKT to easily adapt to the changing circumstances to ensure that contraception was still easily available during the troubling times

It is clear to see a strong correspondence in how the FBM can be utilised in numerous amounts of ways. All of them generated in a favourable behaviour outcome, or leading to a favourable outcome.

How can it benefit individuals using this method?

Figure 6. Adaptability Process

The FBM has had many applications, but the benefits are extraordinary. A bigger focus is on aiding the consumer on how the behaviour can be more manageable and approachable. Breaking the behaviour in reasonable steps can further teach the individual how easy and adaptable it can be (van Gent et al., 2019). The Fogg behaviour grid is another instance in which behaviour can be phased in or out (Fogg, 2009c) (Table 1). For persuasive technology use it simple to adapt (Figure 6) and understand by following the 3 principals of motivation, ability and triggers. The clarity helps organisations to focus on the essential elements if behaviour change. The FMB is more holistic as it considers more than motivation so persuasive technologies must think about the ability and triggers to make it appealing to the consumer. Although it follows 3 core principals it also tallows to experiment with the FMB and find the most effective method to get consumers clicking, buying or changing their behaviour whatever it needs to be. This steamily simple deign considers fields in psychology, technology and design fostering a collaboration among different disciplines. The FBM framework allows for the transform observations concise linguistic information with a high concertation on ability and motivation (Toledo et al., 2018). Persuasive Technologies are more effective when they are interactive for example children using smart devices with learning apps (Mallawaarachchi et al., 2023). This further allows persuaders to adjust influence if need be (Guimaraes et al., 2018).

Table 1. Fogg Behaviour Grid

	Green behaviour Do new behaviour, one that is unfamiliar	Blue behaviour Do familiar behaviour	Purple behaviour Increase behaviour intensity or duration	Grey behaviour Decrease behaviour intensity or duration	Black behaviour Stop doing a behaviour
Dot behaviour is done one-time	GreenDot do new behaviour one time	BlueDot Do familiar behaviour one time	PurpleDot Increase behaviour one time	GreyDot Decrease behaviour one time	BlackDot Stop doing behaviour at one time
Span behaviour has duration such as 40 days	GreenSpan Do new behaviour for a period of time	BlueSpan Do familiar behaviour for a period of time	PurpleSpan Increase behaviour for a period of time	GreySpan Decrease behaviour for a period of time	BlackSpan Stop a behaviour for a period of time
Path behaviour is a permanent change	GreenPath Do new behaviour from now on	BluePath do familiar behaviour from now on	PurplePath Increase behaviour from now on	GreyPath Decrease behaviour from now on	BlackPath Stop a behaviour from now on

Conclusion

The Fogg behaviour model brings to light a new and reimagined way to improve and increase favourable behaviour. Fogg extensive history of persuasive design and input allowed for him to create this model that encompasses the 3 core principals of behaviour change. Motivation, ability and triggers all hold some of influence when a change occurs. A persuasive technology company would assume that the biggest motivator for their audience, then create and accessible binding for the behaviour to be set on. Lastly, a catchy trigger in which it reminds people for the behaviour to act upon. The FBM model structure is as follows motivation containing 3 subcomponents of pleasure / pain, hope / fear or social acceptance / rejection, secondly ability which consider time, money, physical effort, brain cycles, social deviance, and non-routine. Lastly triggers, where they are categorised into spark, facilitator and signal.

The Model can be easily adapted into many domains, some of the listed in the chapter such as the use of social media apps such as Duolingo and BeReal, but mainly lie within the health sector such as the importance of family planning within Nigeria during COVID-19 and condom use in Pakistan. These all have very different mission as to what they are trying to portray yet the FBM has been used effectively in all circumstances to portray an improvement / awareness in behaviour.

See also

• B. J. Fogg (Wikipedia)
• Habit stacking (Book chapter, 2024)
• Gamification and work motivation (Book Chapter, 2022)

References

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AlMarshedi, A., Wanick, V., Wills, G. B., & Ranchhod, A. (2016). Gamification and behaviour. In Progress in IS (pp. 19–29). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-45557-0_2

Boerger, N. L., Barleen, N. A., Marzec, M. L., Moloney, D. P., & Dobro, J. (2018). The impact of specialized telephonic guides on employee engagement in corporate well-being programs. Population Health Management, 21(1), 32–39. https://doi.org/10.1089/pop.2017.0027

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Filippou, J., Cheong, C., & Cheong, F. (2016). Combining the Fogg behavioural model and hook model to design features in a persuasive app to improve study habits. arXiv preprint arXiv:1606.03531.

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Fogg, B. (2009c). The Behavior Grid. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Persuasive Technology - Persuasive ’09. https://doi.org/10.1145/1541948.1542001

Fogg, B. J., & Euchner, J. (2019). Designing for behavior change—New models and moral issues: An interview with B.J. Fogg. Research-Technology Management, 62(5), 14–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/08956308.2019.1638490

Guimaraes, M., Emmendorfer, L., & Adamatti, D. (2018). Persuasive agent based simulation for evaluation of the dynamic threshold line and trigger classification from the Fogg Behavior Model. Simulation Modelling Practice and Theory, 83, 18–35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.simpat.2018.01.001

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Meekers, D., Onuoha, C., & Olutola, O. (2020). Applying the Fogg Behavior Model to improve contraceptive social marketing during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nigeria: A case study. Gates Open Research, 4, 141. https://doi.org/10.12688/gatesopenres.13186.1

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Nanda, K., Lebetkin, E., Steiner, M. J., Yacobson, I., & Dorflinger, L. J. (2020). Contraception in the era of COVID-19. Global Health: Science and Practice, 8(2), 166–168. https://doi.org/10.9745/GHSP-D-20-00119

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Toledo, F. P. de, Devincenzi, S., Kwecko, V., Mota, F. P., & Botelho, S. S. da C. (2018). A framework for modeling persuasive technologies based on the Fogg Behavior Model. 2018 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE). https://doi.org/10.1109/fie.2018.8659195

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van Gent, P., Farah, H., van Nes, N., & van Arem, B. (2019). A conceptual model for persuasive in-vehicle technology to influence tactical level driver behaviour. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 60, 202–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2018.10.004

External links

• Fogg behaviour model (behaviormodel.org)
• Modeling Behaviour (Bora Nikolic)
• Persuasive technologies (Sunil Arora)