Day 30 - The Reciprocity Principle

“The reciprocity principle states that people, when given something upfront, tend to feel a sense of obligation to repay what has been provided.”

Luciano Gamberini and his colleagues at the University of Padova studied two models of data gathering:

• Reward Model

  • the content is provided to the user only after they submit their personal information

  • An example of the reward model is login walls, i.e. asking users to log in before they can access the app or the site.

• Reciprocity Model

  • the content is free to access without the need for personal information

  • the user is asked for their personal information only after they have accessed the content

The reciprocity model helps in establishing a meaningful relationship with users by giving them something before asking for anything.

Reference

• Reciprocation: Why Login Walls Aren’t Always “Better"