August 11, 2016 / By John A. Parkinson /

This fun article talks about how Pokemon Go motivates users to be physically active from a SDT perspective.

Self-determination theory argues that we will work energetically to satisfy three core psychological needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness. A person will engage in exercise if they choose to do so (autonomy), feel they are gaining valuable skills or achieving a goal (competence), or enjoying social interactions (relatedness). And that’s where Pokemon Go comes in: it motivates users because it provides a pure form of these core needs. You can choose when to go Pokemon hunting and which Pokemon to hunt. By catching and training Pokemon you gain levels and status, and walking up to 10km can hatch rare Pokemon eggs that you have found. Additionally, you can hunt in packs or with one or two close allies, or share augmented reality snaps over social media.

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