* Article: Badges in Social Media: A Social Psychological Perspective. By Antin, J.; Churchill, E.F. CHI 2011, ACM, Vancouver, BC (2011)

URL = http://research.yahoo.com/files/Antin%20&%20Churchill%20-%20Badges%20in%20Social%20Media.pdf

Abstract:

"Representing achievements as badges or trophies is a standard practice in online gaming. Awarding badges has also become a key ingredient in “gamifying” online social media experiences. Social systems such as Foursquare, StackOverflow, and Wikipedia have popularized badges as a way of engaging and motivating users. In this paper we deconstruct badges and present five social psychological functions for badges in social media contexts: goal setting, instruction, reputation, status/affirmation, and group identification. We argue that future research should further explore these five functions and their application in specific contexts." (http://research.yahoo.com/pub/3469)