Misaligned traits and values

Certain tasks require that users work in ways that don't align with their personality traits or what they value; like fitting a square peg into a round hole. This misalignment prevents users from enjoying the product and from being intrinsically motivated to complete the task efficiently, accurately, or at all. When users have no choice but to complete such a task, it may create cognitive dissonance — the psychological discomfort of holding two incompatible ideas in one's mind — which can leave users feeling guilty or stressed. This misalignment can also decrease users' engagement and overall satisfaction with the product. A misalignment between the user's personality trait (e.g., being social) and the state they find themselves in (e.g., having to work heads-down most of the day without any interaction) can cause a lot of friction and also lead to low satisfaction and engagement.