Using Motivation, Emotion, and Best Practices to Design a Mobile Application for Children

Abstract

The following paper presents the evaluation of a mobile application, MotoRobos, that was designed utilizing motivation research, emotion research, and best design practices. MotoRobos will be used by parents and potentially teachers to help motivate their children and students to complete tasks and/or behave. Currently, most applications focus primarily on extrinsic motivators (rewards). Research has shown that when extrinsic motivators are the sole reason that individuals are completing tasks, it is highly likely that motivation will diminish over time. Using intrinsic motivators in conjunction with extrinsic motivators, however, provides individuals with long-lasting motivation, particularly when those motivators allow individuals to express creativity. The proposed mobile application will not only allow children to unlock rewards for completing tasks, but will encourage them to use those rewards creatively. The opportunity to be creative will instill intrinsic motivation, which will increase the likelihood of continued use.