When companies, teachers, or apps introduce symbolic rewards, competition, or other things to make something feel more like a game, they're relying on gamification to enhance an experience that might otherwise be boring. But to get the results we seek in our own lives, it's important to understand when this will work and when it will only make matters worse.

In 2012, Jana Gallus, a student at the University of Zurich, run an experiment to help Wikipedia find a way to keep their top and long-time editors engaged with the demanding task of managing and updating content on the website without paying them. In this experiment, Gallus told some hard-working Wikipedia newcomers that for their efforts, their names were listed as award winners on a Wikipedia page. They also received one, two, or three stars, which appeared next to their username, based on their performance. Meanwhile, other newcomers who had contributed equally got no symbolic awards. In the end, volunteers who received recognition for their efforts were 20 percent more likely to volunteer for Wikipedia again in the following month than those who earned no praise.

Despite these exciting results, a more recent experiment shows gamification may not solve anything and can even backfire. It involved several hundred salespeople who reach out to businesses and convince them to buy coupons. Researchers designed a game in which salespeople could earn points by closing deals with customers, with more points awarded for bigger deals. Surprisingly, playing the game didn't improve sales performance and the way they felt at work in the end. And digging into data revealed a very interesting pattern: those who considered the game pointless actually felt worse about work, and sales performance even declined in some cases. This highlights a common mistake companies make with gamification: It is unhelpful if people feel that their employer is forcing them to participate.

So gamification seems to work when it helps people achieve the goals they intrinsically want to reach (like volunteering for Wikipedia to provide accurate information to the public) by making the process of goal achievement more exciting. When people fully buy into a game, the results can be impressive: volunteers' productivity is durably improved and workers' enthusiasm is raised. However, if a "game" is mandatory and designed to encourage people to do something they don't really care to do, it will not be a good solution and can even be harmful.

While not every context is the right one, under certain conditions, gamification can make pursuing your aspirations feel more like play. And that is a powerful tool in any personal or professional quest for change.

(Adapted from wired.com)