Compulsion loop

Part of a series on
Behavioural influences
Fields of study
Obedience Compliance Disobedience Group influences Social perception
Topics
Attribution theory Cognitive dissonance theory Self-perception theory Stereotyping Social and cultural norms
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A compulsion loop, reward loop or core loop is a habitual chain of activities that a user may feel compelled to repeat. Typically, this loop is designed to create a neurochemical reward in the user such as the release of dopamine.

Compulsion loops are deliberately used in video game design as an extrinsic motivation for players, but may also result from other activities that create such loops, intentionally or not, such as gambling addiction and Internet addiction disorder.