Photo by ilgmyzin on Unsplash

I’ve been learning French on Duolingo for 80 days now. But before you judge my streak — impressive or abysmal — I have a confession. I never really intended to learn French on Duolingo. Or any other app, for that matter.

Given, I’ve had French on my list of nice-to-learns for a while. But that was just about it. A mere wish. I was in no way prepared for the level of commitment involved in learning a new language. Heck! I’m having enough trouble speaking the ones I’m supposed to.

But here I am, hooked. And I’m not alone. I’m in the excellent company of over half a billion other humans on the planet.

So how did I get here?

Well, I was curious. I wanted to see what all the hype was about. So, I downloaded Duolingo. It started with a simple greeting: “Hi there! I’m Duo!” The next thing I knew, I had taken an oath of commitment. Under the watchful verdant of a green owl, I pledged to spend 15 mins a day learning French for the entirety of my foreseeable existence.

I know…I know this makes me seem impressionable. Well, in my defense, I was engrossed in the conversation. Who wouldn’t want to chat with such a cute little owl?

I mean, look at this:

From left to right, top to bottom: A signup conversation with Duo (Duolingo mobile app).

And so began my battle to maintain an unbroken streak.

UX Writing and Gamification

When it comes to Gamification, Duolingo is seriously one of the best. The app masterfully infuses game-like elements into language learning — an otherwise mundane task — to tap into the users’ emotions and drive engagement.

However, one thing that’s all too easy to miss is the role of thoughtful UX writing in this gamification process.

Notifications from Duolingo: Thinking of breaking your streak? Not on Duo’s watch.

To the untrained eye, the random push notifications from Duo are just…cute. Or maybe a little pesky. But zoom into the words — just a little bit, and you’ll notice the clever use of some principles of psychology.

Now, let’s examine some of these principles and how Duolingo incorporates them in the gamification process using language.

3 Principles of Psychology Used in Duolingo’s UX Copy

Commitment and Consistency

This is where Duo has me in a chokehold. By constantly reminding me of my streak, the app appeals to my innate desire to appear consistent with what I have already done.

Screenshots of Duolingo’s push notifications

In the book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, the author describes commitment and consistency as a weapon of social influence. In his words: “Once a stand is taken, there is a natural tendency to behave in ways that are stubbornly consistent with the stand.”

Let’s see how Duolingo uses this principle by examining one of their statements: “Keep up your 72-day streak!” This statement highlights your milestone (72-day streak) as a way to reinforce your commitment to daily learning. It makes you think, “I haven’t missed a day for 72 days. Why should I miss one now?”

Takeaway

You can use the power of the consistency principle to direct users’ actions. Once you get them to make a commitment (e.g. pick a goal), you can appeal to their desire to be consistent simply by reminding them of that commitment.

Social Proof

We are social beings. So one way we determine what is correct is to find out what others think is correct. The more people we see engaging in a behavior, the more correct the behavior seems in our eyes. Duolingo knows this.

Duo highlights the number of users learning French.

Look at that figure. That’s almost 300,000 people learning French with me. I look at this statement and think, “Such a huge number of people can’t be wrong. I must be doing the right thing by joining them.”

Takeaway

Take advantage of the power of social proof. Look out for opportunities in the user experience (particularly the areas where users are likely uncertain) to highlight the popularity of your product.

Scarcity

As humans, we’re more motivated by the thought of losing something than by the thought of gaining something of equal value. So, the mere idea of losing an item can significantly enhance its perceived value. Think about it, which of these statements is more likely to spur you to action:

• “You lose $250/year by using traditional light bulbs.”
• “You can save $250/year by using energy-saving light bulbs.”

The first statement is more likely to elicit fear, which leads you to take action. Clearly, Duolingo understands this principle well.

Duolingo push notification: Time is running out!

Let’s examine the statement: “The day is almost over!” Although it doesn’t explicitly mention loss, it still connotes an imminent loss of time. By highlighting the scarcity of time, the statement triggers a feeling of urgency and compels you to take action.

Takeaway

You can use the scarcity principle to appeal to the users’ desire to preserve their established prerogatives. By highlighting what the users stand to lose by not taking action, you can create a sense of urgency that encourages them to act.

But be sure to use this principle ethically. Never trick users into taking actions that aren’t in their best interests.