Chapter 16: Quiz — Loss Aversion and the Streak Mechanic

Instructions: Select the best answer for each question. Each question has one correct answer.

Question 1 Kahneman and Tversky's Prospect Theory was first published in:

A) 1969 B) 1979 C) 1989 D) 1999

Question 2 According to Prospect Theory, losses are experienced as approximately how much more painful than equivalent gains are pleasurable?

A) 1.5 times B) 2 to 2.5 times C) 3 to 4 times D) 5 times

Question 3 The evolutionary basis for loss aversion suggests that it originated because:

A) Early humans were naturally pessimistic about their chances of survival B) The negative consequences of losses were genuinely more severe than the positive consequences of equivalent gains in ancestral environments C) Natural selection favored organisms who sought risks rather than avoiding them D) Early humans lived in environments of abundance rather than scarcity

Question 4 Which of the following is NOT described in the chapter as a real-world manifestation of loss aversion?

A) The endowment effect B) The status quo bias C) The sunk cost fallacy D) The anchoring effect

Question 5 Snapchat introduced the Snapstreaks feature in:

A) 2012 B) 2013 C) 2015 D) 2017

Question 6 What distinguishes Snapchat's streak mechanic from most other streak mechanics?

A) It is the only streak mechanic that resets to zero on a miss B) It is bilateral — both parties in a friendship dyad can see the streak C) It can only be maintained by sending text messages, not photos D) It requires payment to maintain after 100 days

Question 7 The chapter describes the Duolingo streak mechanic as potentially causing which of the following inversions?

A) Users spending more money than they intended B) The streak itself becoming the goal rather than language learning C) Users forgetting their native language D) Streaks increasing difficulty rather than tracking consistency

Question 8 GitHub's contribution graph produces streak culture through:

A) An explicit streak counter displayed on the user's profile B) Daily email reminders about contribution gaps C) Visual salience of unbroken green contribution chains on the profile D) A mandatory daily coding challenge

Question 9 Self-determination theory, developed by Deci and Ryan, distinguishes between:

A) Conscious and unconscious motivation B) Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation C) Social and individual motivation D) Short-term and long-term motivation

Question 10 The "crowding out" effect in motivation research refers to:

A) Platform notifications interfering with users' ability to focus B) The tendency for extrinsic motivators to undermine intrinsic motivation C) Users blocking each other when there are too many streak requests D) Platform algorithms suppressing content from users with low streaks

Question 11 A "ratchet mechanism" in game design is best described as:

A) A device that rewards users proportionally to the time they spend B) A feature that makes it easy to move in one direction (accumulating) and painful to move in the other (losing) C) A system that randomly awards bonus streak days D) An interface element that displays streak progress as a spinning wheel

Question 12 The Zeigarnik effect refers to:

A) The tendency to value things more when they are rare B) The tendency to remember uncompleted tasks better than completed ones and to feel driven to complete unfinished work C) The tendency to overestimate the value of future rewards D) The tendency to copy behavior observed in others

Question 13 LinkedIn's profile completion mechanic is described in the chapter as a "perpetual task" because:

A) Users must complete it every month B) The system is designed so that achieving 100% completion requires ongoing activity users cannot fully control C) The platform resets completion scores every year D) The system awards completion points that expire after 90 days

Question 14 According to the chapter, the "streak freeze" feature reveals that platform designers:

A) Are unaware that streak anxiety exists B) Designed streaks primarily to help users form habits C) Are fully aware that streak anxiety is a real psychological phenomenon that drives user behavior D) Offer streak freezes out of concern for user wellbeing

Question 15 The chapter characterizes the "streak freeze" monetization strategy as structurally similar to:

A) A subscription fee for premium content B) A protection racket — creating a threat and selling insurance against it C) A loyalty rewards program D) A charitable donation mechanism

Question 16 Deterding et al.'s 2011 paper defined gamification as:

A) The process of making work feel like play B) The use of game design elements in non-game contexts C) The application of points and badges to educational settings D) The design of addictive features in mobile games

Question 17 Which of the following is listed in the chapter as a diagnostic criterion for loss-aversion-driven compulsion (as opposed to genuine habit)?

A) Doing the maximum possible engagement rather than the minimum B) Feeling anticipation rather than dread before using the platform C) Minimum viable engagement — doing only what is required to maintain the streak D) An internal locus of control over platform behavior

Question 18 Research on Duolingo streak mechanics and learning outcomes found that users primarily motivated by streak maintenance showed:

A) Higher long-term learning retention than intrinsically motivated users B) Lower long-term learning retention than intrinsically motivated users C) No significant difference in learning retention compared to intrinsically motivated users D) Better pronunciation but worse reading comprehension

Question 19 In the Velocity Media sidebar, Dr. Aisha Johnson's memo described streak mechanics as:

A) "A promising tool for habit formation" B) "Unnecessarily complex for our user base" C) "Manufacturing obligation" D) "Ethically neutral but poorly implemented"

Question 20 After the streak feature launched at Velocity Media, daily active user counts:

A) Decreased by 14% in the following quarter B) Stayed the same C) Increased by 14% in the following quarter D) Increased by 40% in the following year

Question 21 Valkenburg and colleagues' research on adolescent well-being found that negative psychological outcomes were more predicted by:

A) Overall time spent on social media, regardless of which features were used B) Specific platform features, including streak counters and engagement notifications C) The number of friends users had on social platforms D) The type of content users posted rather than the features they used

Question 22 The chapter's discussion of Maya and her 847-day Snapchat streak illustrates primarily which argument?

A) That teenagers lack the maturity to use social media responsibly B) That long streaks are beneficial because they encourage consistent communication C) That bilateral streak mechanics convert genuine friendship into manufactured obligation, producing anxiety rather than connection D) That Snapchat's hourglass warning is an effective and ethical reminder system

Answer Key