Behavioral Science Behind Habitica

Basic Concepts

 * "Operant conditioning" is a type of learning developed by B. F. Skinner and other behavioral psychologists. Operant conditioning is a psychological term that describes how people learn from the consequences of their actions. If you do something and something good happens as a result, then you are more likely to repeat that behavior. On the other hand, if you do something and something bad happens, you are much less likely to engage in that kind of behavior.
 * What is a reinforcer and what is a punishment varies from person to person. If you enjoy eating chocolate, then receiving chocolate as a reward for studying will probably make you want to study more so that you can get more chocolate; however, if you detest chocolate, then the idea of getting chocolate for studying is not very likely to encourage you to study more. The
 * different schedules of reinforcement (ex, random drops = an intermittent schedule of reinforcement can be a buffer against extinction)
 * expectations/progress monitoring
 * not too clinical but just to show some level of what ADHD needs and how HabitRPG can help, -this should not explain the game functions of the features - (Dailies are . . . ) - but rather speak to the effect of the feature - (Knowing that missing a Daily can break a streak can be a great motivator!)
 * multiple "styles" of motivation: predictable rewards, random drops, badges of achievement, competitive prizes, collective efforts, etc. - We like visual feedback!
 * Watching the XP bar or decking out your avatar can give you an intuitive sense of progress that is very satisfying.
 * being responsible for other players, participating in a community where everybody is improving can be motivating in and of itself (we can talk about positive peer pressure) -parties, world bosses, guilds, etc.
 * MOST OF ALL: having fun while doing things that need to get done

Reinforcement

 * A "reinforcer" is any consequence of a behavior that encourages the behavior to recur.
 * Positive reinforcement is when you receive something good as a result of an action; for example, if you allow yourself to eat some delicious chocolate after doing a half an hour of homework, then the chocolate serves to reinforce the act of doing homework.
 * Negative reinforcement is removing something bad as a result of an action; for example, if you allow yourself to skip a chore if you do a half an hour of homework, then you are also likely to do more homework so that you can skip more chores. The important thing to remember is that if it encourages the behavior to happen more often, it is a reinforcer.

Punishment

 * A punishment is any consequence of a behavior that discourages that behavior from recurring.
 * Positive punishment is getting something bad...(continue)