Common reading patterns users follow when scanning web content, such as the F-pattern, where users read across the top and then scan down the left side. Important for designing layouts that align with natural reading behaviors, improving content engagement and usability.
The ease with which users can quickly find and understand information on a webpage or document, often enhanced by design elements like headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs. Crucial for improving user experience and ensuring that content is accessible and easy to navigate.
The process of predicting how one will feel in the future, which often involves biases and inaccuracies. Important for understanding user behavior and decision-making, aiding in the design of better user experiences.
A framework for understanding what drives individuals to act, involving theories such as Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Important for designing products and experiences that align with users' intrinsic and extrinsic motivations.
The tendency to avoid information that one perceives as potentially negative or anxiety-inducing. Important for designing experiences that encourage information-seeking behavior.
The study of cultural norms, values, and practices and their influence on human behavior. Useful for designing products that are culturally sensitive and relevant.
The study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation. Important for designing effective visual communication and iconography.
A framework for designing habit-forming products that includes four phases: Trigger, Action, Variable Reward, and Investment. Crucial for creating engaging and sticky user experiences.
The application of behavioral science principles to improve the design and usability of digital products, focusing on user behavior and interactions. Important for creating user experiences that are intuitive and engaging by leveraging behavioral insights.
A cognitive bias where people focus on the most noticeable or prominent information while ignoring less conspicuous details. Important for understanding user decision-making and ensuring balanced presentation of information.
A cognitive bias where the pain of losing is psychologically more powerful than the pleasure of gaining. Important for designing user experiences that account for and mitigate loss aversion.
A set of cognitive processes that include working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control, crucial for planning, decision-making, and behavior regulation. Crucial for designing interfaces and experiences that support users' cognitive abilities.
The process of encoding sensory input that has particular meaning or can be applied to a context, enabling deeper processing and memory retention. Important for understanding how information is processed and stored, enhancing design of educational content.
The tendency for images to be more easily remembered than words, highlighting the power of visual communication. Crucial for designing effective visual content that enhances memory retention and user engagement.
A phenomenon where the probability of recalling an item from a list depends on the length of the list. Important for understanding memory processes and designing effective information presentation.
A dark pattern where additional costs are only revealed at the last step of the checkout process. It's essential to avoid this tactic and promote transparent pricing to build user trust.
The theory that people adjust their behavior in response to the perceived level of risk, often taking more risks when they feel more protected. Important for designing safety features and understanding behavior changes in response to risk perception.
A cognitive bias where people wrongly believe they have direct insight into the origins of their mental states, while treating others' introspections as unreliable. Important for designing experiences that account for discrepancies between user self-perception and actual behavior.
A dark pattern where questions are worded in a way that tricks the user into giving an answer they didn't intend. Recognizing the harm of this practice is important to maintain clarity and honesty in user interactions.
The practice of setting defaults in decision environments to influence outcomes, often used in behavioral economics and design. Crucial for creating user experiences that encourage beneficial behaviors through preselected options.
The tendency for people to prefer things that are easy to think about and understand. Important for designing user interfaces that are intuitive and easy to use.
The practice of designing and implementing processes, systems, or business solutions in a way that ensures their long-term viability, efficiency, and maintainability. Crucial for creating durable and efficient designs that remain practical and effective over time, ensuring the ongoing success and feasibility of digital products and operations.
Also known as Magical Number 7 +/- 2, a theory in cognitive psychology that states the average number of objects an individual can hold in working memory is about seven. Crucial for designing user interfaces that align with human cognitive limitations.
A dark pattern where the user is tricked into publicly sharing more information about themselves than they intended. Designers must avoid this deceptive practice and ensure clear, consensual data sharing to respect user privacy.
A cognitive bias where people underestimate the influence of emotional states on their own and others' behavior. Crucial for designers to account for varying user emotional states in experience design.
A cognitive bias where users believe they have explored all available content, even when more is present. Important for designing interfaces that clearly indicate the presence of additional content.
The effort required for users to complete a task or interaction within a system. Essential for optimizing usability and minimizing user effort.
A cognitive bias where people prefer familiar things over unfamiliar ones, even if the unfamiliar options are objectively better. Useful for designing interfaces and products that leverage familiar elements to enhance user comfort.
Elements in a process that cause resistance or slow down user actions, which can lead to frustration or be used intentionally to prevent errors and encourage deliberate actions. Important for recognizing both the negative impact of unnecessary delays and the positive use of intentional friction to enhance user decision-making and reduce errors.
A cognitive bias where people remember scenes as being more expansive than they actually were. Important for understanding how users perceive and recall visual information, aiding in better visual design decisions.
A visual or auditory cue that indicates how to interact with an element in the user interface. Crucial for enhancing usability by clearly communicating the purpose and function of UI elements.
Location, Alphabet, Time, Category, and Hierarchy (LATCH) is a framework for categorizing information. Useful for creating clear and intuitive information structures in digital products.
A cognitive bias that leads individuals to prefer things to remain the same rather than change, often resisting new options or changes. Crucial for understanding resistance to change and designing strategies to overcome it among users.
The tendency for the first items presented in a sequence to be remembered better than those in the middle. Crucial for designing information presentation and improving memory retention.
A temporary increase in the frequency and intensity of a behavior when reinforcement is first removed. Useful for understanding user behavior changes in response to modifications in design or system features.
The ability to perform actions or behaviors automatically due to learning, repetition, and practice. Important for understanding user habits and designing intuitive user interfaces.
A cognitive bias where a person's subjective confidence in their judgments is greater than their objective accuracy. Crucial for understanding user decision-making and designing systems that account for overconfidence.
A strategy where engaging, preferred activities are used to motivate users to complete less engaging, necessary tasks. Useful for designing user interfaces and experiences that encourage desired behaviors by leveraging more enjoyable activities as rewards.
Behavioral Science (BeSci) is the study of human behavior through systematic analysis and investigation. Essential for understanding and influencing user behavior in design and product development.
The path taken by a user to complete a task on a website or application, including all the steps and interactions along the way. Essential for designing intuitive and efficient user experiences.
A cognitive bias where people avoid negative information or situations, preferring to remain uninformed or ignore problems. Important for understanding user behavior and designing systems that encourage proactive engagement.
A visual representation of information or data designed to make complex information easily understandable at a glance. Important for communicating insights and data effectively to stakeholders and users in digital product design.
A motivational theory suggesting that individuals are motivated to act based on the expected outcomes of their actions and the attractiveness of those outcomes. Important for understanding motivation and behavior, distinct from decision-making under uncertainty.
The tendency to forget information that can be easily found online, also known as digital amnesia. Important for understanding how access to information impacts memory and designing experiences accordingly.
A philosophical approach to culture and literature that seeks to confront the social, historical, and ideological forces and structures that produce and constrain it. Valuable for analyzing and addressing power dynamics and biases in design.
An interdisciplinary study of systems, examining the complex interactions and relationships between components within a whole. Crucial for understanding and designing complex, interconnected systems.
A set of principles describing how the human mind organizes visual information into meaningful wholes. Crucial for designing intuitive digital interfaces and cohesive user experiences that align with natural human perception patterns.
A principle that states the time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices available. Crucial for designing user interfaces that minimize cognitive load and enhance decision-making efficiency.
The tendency for individuals to give positive responses or feedback out of politeness, regardless of their true feelings. Crucial for obtaining honest and accurate user feedback.
A theory in environmental psychology that suggests people prefer environments where they can see (prospect) without being seen (refuge). Useful for understanding environmental design and creating spaces that feel safe and inviting.
The tendency to believe that large or significant events must have large or significant causes. Important for understanding cognitive biases in decision-making and designing systems that present accurate causal relationships.
The persistence of misinformation in memory and influence on reasoning, even after it has been corrected. Crucial for understanding and mitigating the impact of misinformation in design and communication.
A specific viewport dimension at which a website's layout adjusts to provide an optimal viewing experience across different screen sizes. Crucial for responsive web design to ensure usability on various devices.
The phenomenon where having too many options leads to anxiety and difficulty making a decision, reducing overall satisfaction. Important for designing user experiences that balance choice and simplicity to enhance satisfaction.
A technology and research method that measures where and how long a person looks at various areas on a screen or interface. Crucial for understanding user attention and improving interface design.
A psychological effect where exposure to one stimulus influences the response to a subsequent stimulus, without conscious guidance or intention. Crucial for designing experiences that subtly guide user behavior and decision-making.
A cognitive bias where people tend to believe that others are more affected by media messages and persuasive communications than they are themselves. Important for understanding media influence and designing communications that account for this bias in user perception.
A phenomenon where learning is improved when study sessions are spaced out over time rather than crammed together. Crucial for designing educational and training programs that enhance long-term retention.
A psychological theory that predicts an individual's behavior based on their intention, which is influenced by their attitudes and subjective norms. Important for understanding and predicting user behavior and designing interventions to influence actions.
The tendency to favor people who are similar to oneself in terms of background, beliefs, or interests. Important for recognizing and mitigating bias in user research and team dynamics.