Dispatch from the Digital Frontier: Engagement and the Dopamine Squirt

Engagementis on many people’s minds these days. Again. Why? Because, thetheory goes, if the [customer/reader/learner/voter/player] isengaged, then she will [buy more/read on/learn better/vote forme/keep playing]. Engagement is the first-level indicator of success,even though it’s not inherently measurable on its own.

Infact, defining engagement is a pretty squishy undertaking. Inmarketing language, engagement is a “meaningful interaction,”whatever that is, while education looks to student involvement,participation, and interaction. With apologies to Justice PotterStewart, engagement seems to be best characterized by the assertion,“I know it when I see it.”

Theeducation and training sectors have spun many cycles in pursuit ofthe magic formula for engaging learners. How do we design compellinglearning experiences that capture the minds and imaginations ofstudents? What kinds of interactions are most likely to yield learnerengagement? Is there a magic formula for holding the interest oflearners so that they remain invested in their own learning and skilldevelopment? Do we need to be more entertaining, more directive, moreinteractive, more focused, more hands-on, more hands-off? Is it aquestion of mediation, of personalization, of collaboration?

Asthe institution of journalism seeks to re-invent itself for the 21^stcentury, the question of how to engage the journalism consumer isalso front and center. Newspaper subscriptions are falling, as isviewership of TV news. Surely, if the news business could figure outhow to (re-)engage news consumers, especially those under 40,journalism would be able to reassert its criticality to freedom anddemocracy. Re-engaged news consumers would become re-engagedcitizens, astute voters involved in the civic life of theircommunities. This line of inquiry is also sparking a debate about theengagement of the journalist within the community s/he serves. Shouldthe journalist be an observer or an instigator? A reporter, aninterpreter, an analyst, a catalyst?

Inthe world of games, whether they be for entertainment or more seriouspurposes, player engagement makes the difference between gamecompletion and game abandonment. Engaged players will promote gamesthey like, often returning to the same game again and again tore-live an enjoyable experience, better a previous score, or outplayan opponent.

Onereason games generate player engagement is the physiological responsethey cause. As players proceed through a game, mastering challengesand outdoing opponents, they exhibit that primitive impulse torespond to immediate opportunities and threats. This stimulationprovokes excitement, prompting the brain to release dopamine, aneurotransmitter that signals the parts of the brain responsible foracquiring new behavior. As it turns out, dopamine has an addictivequality that causes game players to chase the next “dopaminesquirt.” (Yes, one can become addicted to learning!)

Arguablythe most critical activity in the game design process is tuning. Gametuning is the act of testing, analyzing, and revising all aspects ofthe game to achieve a gaming experience that meets its intendedpurpose and objectives. An indicator of a well-tuned game is the“right” pacing of dopamine squirts that a player experienceswhile playing the game: when a game is perceived as overly easy andtherefore uninteresting, the dopamine stops flowing and the playerstops playing; when the game is too hard and frustrating, thedopamine flow is intermittent and unsatisfying. Balance the playerexperience of tension and relief, and players will play and re-playthe game to feed their desire for the pleasure of the squirt.

Thereis no prescriptive equation or formula for determining the optimalfrequency and pacing of events and interactions that produce dopaminesquirts. Yet, game designers successfully produce this balance timeand time again.

(e-)Learningdesigners typically present learning content by first laying out thelearning goals and high-level objectives, and then fleshing outcontent details in logical, manageable chunks.

Journalistsstructure their stories using an inverted pyramid approach: mostessential information (“the five W’s”) at the top/beginning,followed by explanatory information organized in decreasing levels ofimportance.

Games,by turn, rely on a chronological narrative approach, which may or maynot make clear from the outset the game’s purpose and what theplayer’s role in the narrative is. Nonetheless, in exploring theconcept of engagement and how to ensure it, education and journalismmight take valuable cues from games’ awareness of the vital role ofthe dopamine squirt in engagement.

Hereare a few of the questions that all of this suggests to me:

• What kinds of activities and interactions will provide learners with an appealing tension/relief dynamic that produces the ideal dopamine flow?

• Can this tension/relief dynamic be applied to news writing, even within the inverted pyramid paradigm?

• Are game elements or game mechanics appropriate to a particular program’s learning goals and objectives?

• Can journalism’s expository writing style incorporate a “game feel” without sacrificing journalistic integrity or being too cute?

• What other strategies might yield a similar response in the target audience, whether we seek to educate or inform?

Ilook forward to engaging with you in thinking through thesequestions.