CS474: Human Computer Interaction - Variable Reward

Activity Goals

The goals of this activity are:
  1. To explain the use of variable rewards, with an emphasis on the variability, to maintain human attention and engagement

Supplemental Reading

Feel free to visit these resources for supplemental background reading material.

The Activity

Directions

Consider the activity models and answer the questions provided. First reflect on these questions on your own briefly, before discussing and comparing your thoughts with your group. Appoint one member of your group to discuss your findings with the class, and the rest of the group should help that member prepare their response. Answer each question individually from the activity, and compare with your group to prepare for our whole-class discussion. After class, think about the questions in the reflective prompt and respond to those individually in your notebook. Report out on areas of disagreement or items for which you and your group identified alternative approaches. Write down and report out questions you encountered along the way for group discussion.

Model 1: Variable Reward

Variable Reward Schedule by Brianna Gilmartin, Verywell

Questions

  1. In what ways do social media applications feature variable rewards, both individually and for the community?
  2. Why do variable reward systems hold our engagement over predictable models?
  3. What are some examples of diminishing returns with variable rewards?

Submission

I encourage you to submit your answers to the questions (and ask your own questions!) using the Class Activity Questions discussion board. You may also respond to questions or comments made by others, or ask follow-up questions there. Answer any reflective prompt questions in the Reflective Journal section of your OneNote Classroom personal section. You can find the link to the class notebook on the syllabus.