Science
The science, graded.
Gamify It is grounded in three books and a body of research. These guides explain each one in plain English, show how strong the evidence is, and say what we don’t claim.
Hooked · Nir Eyal
Evidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.The Hook Model
How products earn repeat use: a trigger, an action, a reward that varies and an investment that sets up the next pass.
Evidence grades across 150 graded items: 1 grade A (robust), 32 grade B (moderate), 42 grade C (limited), 75 grade D (practitioner).
144 techniques · 4 entriesRead the guide
Actionable Gamification · Yu-kai Chou
Evidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.The eight Core Drives
Eight reasons people act, from meaning and progress to curiosity and fear of loss, and how to tell motivation that lasts from pressure that burns out.
Evidence grades across 158 graded items: 40 grade B (moderate), 35 grade C (limited), 83 grade D (practitioner).
153 techniques · 14 entriesRead the guide
Influence · Robert Cialdini
The six principles of influence
Why people say yes at the moments that decide a sign-up or a purchase: six shortcuts, plus the two lenses behind them, click, whirr and contrast.
Evidence grades across 106 graded items: 36 grade B (moderate), 33 grade C (limited), 37 grade D (practitioner).
106 techniques · 11 entriesRead the guide
How we know what worked
The measurement playbook
How to tell whether a change worked: what to measure, whether your traffic can answer the question, and how to read a result honestly.
Evidence grades across 25 graded items: 13 grade A (robust), 3 grade B (moderate), 3 grade C (limited), 1 grade D (practitioner), 5 grade X (contested).
20 entriesRead the guide
How we grade
Three scales, never mixed
A grade says how much weight a claim can bear. We keep three separate scales, because a solid number can sit on a weak explanation, and the other way around.
Evidence grade
How well research supports the mechanism behind a technique.
- Evidence grade A. Robust evidence: replicated, peer-reviewed research.Robust evidence: replicated, peer-reviewed research.
- Evidence grade B. Moderate evidence: solid studies with some limits.Moderate evidence: solid studies with some limits.
- Evidence grade C. Limited evidence: few or small studies.Limited evidence: few or small studies.
- Evidence grade D. Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.Practitioner framework or anecdote: plausible, untested.
- Evidence grade X. Contested: the evidence conflicts or failed to replicate.Contested: the evidence conflicts or failed to replicate.
Case grade
How solid a company outcome’s number is, by its source.
- Case grade A. From a regulator, a public filing or a peer-reviewed study.From a regulator, a public filing or a peer-reviewed study.
- Case grade B. Company-reported numbers.Company-reported numbers.
- Case grade C. Press or secondary reporting.Press or secondary reporting.
- Case grade D. Anecdote or unverified secondary sources.Anecdote or unverified secondary sources.
Benchmark confidence
How reliable the source of a benchmark is.
- Benchmark confidence A. A primary source for the benchmark.A primary source for the benchmark.
- Benchmark confidence B. A reputable dataset.A reputable dataset.
- Benchmark confidence C. A secondary source.A secondary source.
Limits
What we don’t claim
- The Hook Model is a practical design tool, not a validated or complete theory of behavior.Hooked, Introduction
- Octalysis is a practitioner framework built from observing games, not a validated scientific model.Actionable Gamification Ch.15, pp.399-400
- Left Brain and Right Brain are a metaphor for extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, not a claim about neuroscience.Actionable Gamification Ch.13, pp.342-343
- Practitioner heuristics (rules of thumb from the books) are graded D everywhere they appear.
- A technique that worked elsewhere is a hypothesis for your product until a test says otherwise.
Your product
Find the stage your product is stuck in
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