1. A thermostat for controlling the operation of a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system, the thermostat comprising: a housing; a user-interface component coupled to the housing and including a mechanically movable input component and an electronic display, and being configured to receive an input from a user, the input being indicative of an adjustment of an HVAC-related setting, the input comprising a continuous mechanical movement of the mechanically movable input component according to which the HVAC-related setting is correspondingly adjusted; a processing component coupled to the user-interface component and configured to: compare on a real-time basis the HVAC-related setting that is being adjusted against a feedback criterion, the feedback criterion being designed to indicate a circumstance under which feedback is to be presented to the user, the circumstance being indicative of an achievement of an HVAC-related setting of a predetermined responsibility level with respect to an energy usage of the HVAC system controlled by the thermostat, determine, in real-time and based on the comparison, whether the feedback criterion is satisfied, and upon a determination that the feedback criterion is satisfied, cause visual feedback to be presented to the user in real-time, the real-time feedback comprising a visual icon having a visual appeal corresponding to a desirability of the satisfaction of the feedback criterion.