September 8, 2026
Headlines

psychology

The Rising Problem of Employee Engagement with Elise Olding

Ivan Kuo12 mins

The Gamification Revolution is the only live gamification webcast featuring Gabe Zichermann and fellow gamification experts every Thursday at 1 PM EST/10 AM PST/1800 GMT. Join us and have all of your gamification questions answered by these experts.

This week’s guest is Gartner Research Director, Elise Olding! Elise has been heavily studying the science of motivation and engagement with the power of people. In this week’s episode you can be sure to learn about:

  • The emerging interest of using games to engage people within organizations
  • How small businesses can leverage gamification without expensive tech.
  • The existence of gamification divisions in organizations like NTT Data
  • Using explicit games social networks as an engagement tool for workspaces
  • Increasing executive acceptance of gamification as a strategy

This was a great week filled with user-participation and questions! Check out the full video below:

 

Download this episode (right click and save)
Be sure to catch this week’s episode featuring Robert Torres of the Gates Foundation for his work in applying gamification for social good.

You can now catch the Gamification Revolution every Thursday at 1PM EST/10 AM PST/1800 GMT.

Read More

How Urgent Optimism Can Drive Player Action in Gamification

Ivan Kuo47 mins

We’ve all experienced that final push, whether it’s getting a project done, putting the finishing touches on a term paper, or running the last leg of the race. No matter what the particulars are of the situation, there is a sense of urgency just before the challenge is over. The final aspects of a journey are coming to a close and there’s usually an implied reward. Sometimes the reward is the end of the challenge, itself, as is the case with a term paper. Other times, there is a finish line to cross and a celebration of closure. It’s what we tell ourselves when we’re about to finish a book and we have “just a few more pages.” In terms of game mechanics, urgent optimism is a powerful force to get people to take action quickly and it could be very successful for your gamification program

Read More

The Science of Motivation with Andrea Kuszewski

Ivan Kuo02 mins

The Gamification Revolution is the only live gamification webcast featuring Gabe Zichermann and fellow gamification experts every Thursday at 1 PM EST/10 AM PST/1800 GMT. Join us and have all of your gamification questions answered by these experts.

This week’s guest is the prominent Andrea Kuszewski! Currently working as the Senior Strategic Planner for the Linus Group, Andrea’s neuroscience background provides great insight for gamification designers. In this week’s episode you can be sure to learn about:

  • Psychology behind motivational design
  • How to market to scientists
  • Keeping your user in your game when it’s difficult
  • Developing educational game platforms

We had many viewers come on and ask questions and we thank you for your engagement and participation! Check out the full video below:

 


Download this episode (right click and save)

Be sure to catch this week’s episode featuring Elise Olding, Research Director at Gartner Inc. for her insightful work and studies on gamification.

You can now catch the Gamification Revolution every Thursday at 1PM EST/10 AM PST/1800 GMT. Be advised that you can now also subscribe to our audio and video podcasts to have this content downloaded automatically.

Read More

Play More, Work More

Danyell Thillet01 mins

Gamification of the enterprise focuses on how autonomy and fun can lead to more productive work. An article from last week’s Wall Street Journal provides support for this idea with insight into the benefits of web surfing in the office. The new study on the “Impact of Cyberloafing on Psychological Engagement,” by Don J.Q. Chen and…

Read More

The Social Psychology of Badges

admin73 mins

Yahoo Research released a short study on what has become one of the most controversial mechanics in gamification: badges. Some people love ’em, some people hate ’em – but most of the arguments are based on speculation or personal preference. There hasn’t been much focused research done on their affect on people as a motivator…

Read More

The Science and Psychology of Gamification

Danyell Thillet54 mins

Michael Wu, PhD, principal scientific analyst for Lithium,  has started a mini-series of blog posts at their Lithosphere blog that delve into the science behind gamification. His first entry broke down the basics, explaining what is gamification, and the distinction between game mechanics versus game dynamics. “[Game mechanics] are principles, rules, and/or mechanisms (much like…

Read More