ON THE BIAS: Endowed Progress Effect
On the Bias is a series that explores our cognitive biases and how they impact our behavior change efforts.
We have covered the Priming Effect so far. All previous On the Bias posts can be viewed here.
A story: From To-Do to To-Done.
I’ll confess: I love a checklist.
I love breaking down a project into its individual steps and creating time blocks in my calendar to tackle each piece.
I used to track my list of to-do’s on paper and draw a little square box next to each one that I could check off when I completed the task. These days, I mainly use Google Docs, which has a built-in checklist feature that checks the box AND creates a strike line through the task.
Double satisfaction!
Sometimes, a project on my to-do list feels daunting or annoying to complete. I stare at the list of steps and empty boxes and wonder how in the world I’ll get motivated to start the project, let alone finish it.
In these situations, I’ve started using a little hack. I place my cursor at the start of the list and add 2 to 3 tasks I’ve already done. These can be small things like “wrote a list of steps to complete the project” or “decided on a due date for the project.” Then, I check the box and watch Google create a line striking those steps off the to-do list.
Now, with two tasks completed in hindsight, I am more energized to move forward with the next step and keep the momentum going.
What’s happening here?
Adding two completed tasks to the start of my to-do list converts the original first step into the third step. This trick helps overcome my hesitancy to start the project and makes me feel like I am already progressing toward the end goal. This “head start” I gave myself is called the endowed progress effect.
ON THE BIAS: “The endowed progress effect is the idea that if you provide some type of artificial advancement toward a goal, a person will be more motivated to complete the goal.”
» Zapier
Initial research on this bias, conducted by Joseph C. Nunes and Xavier Drèze, tested which loyalty cards for car washes would produce higher car wash purchases.
Both cards required 8 car wash purchases to receive a free car wash, but one card showed 8 stamp circles to be purchased, whereas the other card showed 10 circles, two of which already contained stamps.
Even though all test subjects would need to purchase 8 car washes to redeem their reward, 34% of those who received cards with the two stamps achieved the free car wash within 9 months compared to 19% of those with zero stamps.
Bringing the bias home: It’s time to pull out all the punch cards in your wallet and check all your points programs!
Which loyalty programs do you find yourself using the most and why? Are you drawn to those programs simply because of the value they provide, or is it how they frame your progress toward achieving a goal or benefit?
Of the ones you don’t use frequently, consider if you would be more inclined to take the next step if they gave you some points, stamps, or hole punches to get you started or if they clarified the end goal. I found several loyalty programs in my list that I would use more if I knew what I was working toward.
How this bias can help or hurt our behavior change programs
HOW IT HELPS
The endowed progress effect can help our behavior change programs in three ways.
1. It jump-starts the audience’s excitement and motivation to accomplish a set of tasks or repeat specific planet-friendly actions. Like my to-do list hack, providing the audience with upfront points or completed purchases creates a feeling of momentum that compels us to keep moving forward.
2. It keeps people coming back to do more. Once progress toward a goal has started, we begin to feel antsy when there are unresolved or incomplete tasks, called the Zeigarnik effect.
“Zeigarnik (1927) demonstrated that interrupted or uncompleted actions engender a strong motivation to complete the action, and psychologists agree that once a person accepts a task, for whatever reason, he or she tends to stay on that course until the goal is achieved (Fox and Hoffman, 2002).” » Nunes, J. and Drèze, X.
As a result, our audience’s initial excitement about getting started is supported by a desire to revisit the steps regularly in order to “tick all the boxes,” so to speak.
3. It speeds up momentum when the goal gets closer. The endowed progress effect also triggers the goal gradient effect, which stipulates that people exert more effort as they get closer to their goal. When audience members see they only need a few more stamps to get their free car wash, or there is only 10% left of a process, they will work harder to cross the finish line.
Here are a few options for where and when you can incorporate the endowed progress effect in your work:
→ When you have volunteer and member sign-up forms.
Use a progress bar already partially filled in once someone indicates they want to be a volunteer or member. This helps them feel like they are already en route to being registered.
Many organizations have used this technique for their staff onboarding process to ensure new employees get through all the forms and platforms.
→ When there are several action steps in the behavior journey.
Some behavior journeys feature a set of concrete actions at the start that prepare the audience to adopt a larger behavior change goal. Having a clearly defined set of “tasks” to complete with the first ones pre-filled can help audiences overcome status quo bias.
→ When you want the audience to take action on a variety of issues.
Global Citizen wants its members to take repeated action across a range of important topics and provides points for every action they can redeem for concert tickets and unique experiences. When you sign up, you receive your first point! New rewards are added regularly, which motivates people to continue taking actions that will earn points.
→ When you need to hit your fundraising or signature goals.
Nonprofit organizations have been using donation progress meters forever but may not have realized they can tap into the endowed progress effect when the goal is within reach. Many donors and petition signers enjoy closing the final gap to help an organization achieve its stated goal.
HOW IT CAN HURT
The Endowed Progress Effect does not have inherent bad qualities that could negatively impact our behavior change efforts. However, there are ways we might misuse this bias, which could produce low or opposite results.
Here is a set of tips for using the effect accurately.
Offering points and free items could backfire if your audience is already intrinsically motivated to adopt planet-friendly behaviors. There have been examples of blood donors getting turned off by offers of payment because they already do the behavior for personal and altruistic reasons. This approach is most effective when targeting those having difficulty getting started with a process.
Not providing a reason for the bonus can reduce motivation unless you’re awarding points and other abstract forms of currency (coins, gems, etc.) Simply handing over a reward card with two holes already punched out of it produces lower results than providing the recipient with a reason for the bonus, even if it’s a superficial reason. So be sure to include a note or talking point that lets the recipient know why they are special!
Emphasizing buying things may not be a good fit. In the case of coffee and car washes, it makes sense to require purchases to receive a free item. But for many of our projects, asking people to buy more things will feel icky. Instead, consider providing points for actions taken or progress bars, which feel more like a bonus or nudge than a requirement to spend money.
Going overboard with endowments doesn’t help. Studies have shown that it’s important to be reasonable with how many bonus items or points you give audience members. For example, telling someone they have already completed 90 out of 100 steps (when they haven’t) and only have 10 more to go doesn’t spark the same effect. Similarly, filling in 8 out of 10 spots on a loyalty card doesn’t produce the same motivation to complete the card compared with people who made the effort to progress on their own (Zapier, 2016).
A NOTE OF CAUTION
This bias is centered around receiving tangible benefits for doing a desired action, also called extrinsic rewards or extrinsic motivation.
While this method can successfully help audience segments get involved and activated on a topic, its effectiveness will wear out over time. This is why you’re not using all the loyalty points and programs you’ve subscribed to!
Therefore, a long-term behavior change program should supplement and eventually replace external motivators with intrinsic benefits. You can read more about doing that here.
→ Check out the full set of “On The Bias” posts here.
You achieved Level 2 of the Endowed Progress Effect. Congratulations! You’ve now unlocked these two additional resources! See what I did there.
- Nunes, J. C., Drèze, X. (2006). The Endowed Progress Effect: How Artificial Advancement Increases Effort. Journal of Consumer Research, 32(4), 504–512. https://doi.org/10.1086/500480
- Design perfect UX tasks: the Endowed Progress Effect by David Teodorescu. This article details how the endowment progress effect triggers other biases.