Community members are more likely to comply with a request if they have seen other people who also complied with that request (DC 12 CH2)

Contribution requests and social proofing

People will believe an action or outcome is valuable when they are led to believe that other people are doing it (or believe so)

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

New York University

- gamification systems
- social proof/influence
- social presence
- peer assessment
- goal setting
- comment/voting systems
- leadership type
- shared leadership

Ways to encourage contribution in online communities

Kraut, Robert E., and Paul Resnick. Building successful online communities: Evidence-based social design. MIT Press, 2012.

Building successful online communities: Evidence-based social design (Kraut and Resnick)

Social proof

The application of engagement-based design ideas found in games, specifically focusing on how games can engage and motivate participants to return to the medium.

Gamification

When members self-set or are assigned highly challenging goals their contribution increases (DC 13 CH2)
Although many people use self-imposed goals as a source of self-regulation, research has shown that the goals people develop for themselves are not necessarily more powerful than goals assigned to them by an outside agent

Goal setting and contribution in online communities

Integrating assessment into learning by having not just the instructor, but the students' peers evaluate their work. This incorporates and fosters several key learning behaviors, such as self-assessment, collaboration, and peer honesty.

Peer Assessment

When leadership is shared amongst the community and authoritative demands are feasible for any member, contribution tends to increase when leadership-like messages are sent by non-administrators/leaders. Allowing non-admin to send leadership-based messages may increase contribution from other members of the community through increased motivation.

Encouraging Contribution in Online Communities through Shared Leadership

Implementing transactional and person-based rather than aversive leadership styles is beneficial to the contributions of other non-leaders. When they feel a sense of support, connection positive encouragement from their leader, they are more likely to contribute than with negative, punishment-based leadership styles.

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