The motivational driver based on feeling ownership and the desire to accumulate and improve what is owned
Core Idea: Ownership & Possession is the motivation derived from feelings of ownership or control over something, driving people to accumulate, improve, and protect what they perceive as theirs.
Key Elements
- Key principles
- Creates a sense of ownership and investment in virtual or physical items
- Drives collection behaviors and improvement of possessions
- Extends beyond tangible items to processes, projects, and identities
- Generates attachment to things users have customized or invested in
- Creates reluctance to abandon systems where users have accumulated value
- Implementation techniques
- Virtual goods and currency systems
- Collection mechanisms and completionist features
- Customization options for profiles, avatars, or spaces
- Investment mechanics that improve with time and attention
- Property systems that allow control over virtual spaces
- Project ownership and stakeholder mechanisms
- Psychological foundations
- Relates to the "endowment effect" - valuing what we own more highly
- Connected to identity formation through possessions
- Triggers loss aversion when possessions are threatened
- Creates sunk cost effects that increase commitment
- Examples
- Social media profiles and customization options
- Digital collection systems like Steam game libraries
- Customizable avatars and characters in games
- Virtual property in online worlds
- Loyalty programs with accumulated points or status
Additional Connections
- Broader Context: Virtual Economies (systems built around digital ownership)
- Applications: Collection Mechanics (designing engaging collection systems)
- See Also: The Endowment Effect (psychological principle behind ownership value)
References
- Chou, Y. (n.d.). Actionable Gamification: Beyond Points, Badges, and Leaderboards.
- Ariely, D. (2008). Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions.
#gamification #ownership #virtual-goods #motivation #collection #left-brain
Sources: