The study of the nature, structure, and variation of language, including phonetics, phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. Essential for understanding how language influences communication and user interactions in digital products.
A mathematical framework used to analyze strategic interactions where the outcomes depend on the actions of multiple decision-makers. Useful for designing systems and processes that involve competitive or cooperative interactions.
The study of finding the best solution from a set of feasible solutions. Crucial for improving efficiency and performance in design and development processes.
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 individuals better remember the most recent information they have encountered, influencing decision-making and memory recall. Important for designing user experiences that leverage or mitigate the impact of recent information.
A cognitive shortcut that relies on the recognition of one option over another to make a decision, often used when individuals have limited information. Crucial for designing interfaces and experiences that facilitate quick and effective decision-making.
A cognitive bias where people judge the likelihood of an event based on its relative size rather than absolute probability. Important for understanding user decision-making biases and designing systems that present information accurately.
The observed tendency of humans to quickly return to a relatively stable level of happiness despite major positive or negative events or life changes. Useful for designing experiences that maintain user engagement and satisfaction over time.
The ability to perform actions or behaviors automatically due to learning, repetition, and practice. Important for understanding user habits and designing intuitive user interfaces.
The cognitive bias where people treat a set of items as more significant when they are perceived as a cohesive group. Important for understanding user perception and decision-making.
A cognitive bias where individuals evaluate outcomes relative to a reference point rather than on an absolute scale. Essential for understanding decision-making and consumer behavior.
A theoretical approach that focuses on observable behaviors and dismisses internal processes, emphasizing the role of environmental factors in shaping behavior. Foundational for understanding how external factors influence user behavior and for designing behavior-based interventions.
A social norm of responding to a positive action with another positive action, fostering mutual benefit and cooperation. Important for designing user experiences and systems that encourage positive reciprocal interactions.
A behavior in which an individual provides a benefit to another with the expectation that the favor will be returned in the future, fostering mutual cooperation and long-term relationships. Important for building trust, cooperation, and mutually beneficial relationships in various social and professional contexts.
The psychological phenomenon where humorous content is more easily remembered and perceived positively by users. Useful for creating engaging and memorable user experiences.
A concept in transactional analysis that describes three different aspects of the self: Parent, Adult, and Child, each influencing behavior and communication. Important for designing communication strategies and interfaces that resonate with different user states.
The way information is presented to users, which can significantly influence their decisions and perceptions. Important for designing messages and interfaces that guide user choices effectively.
A strategic framework that designs user experiences to guide behavior and decisions towards desired outcomes. Crucial for creating effective and ethical influence in digital interfaces.
A persuasion strategy that involves getting a person to agree to a small request to increase the likelihood of agreeing to a larger request later. Crucial for building user commitment and enhancing marketing and sales strategies.
A stimulus that gains reinforcing properties through association with a primary reinforcer, such as money or tokens, which are associated with basic needs. Essential for understanding complex behavior reinforcement strategies and designing effective reward systems.
The series of actions or operations involved in the acquisition, interpretation, storage, and retrieval of information. Crucial for understanding how users handle information and designing systems that align with cognitive processes.
A mental shortcut that relies on immediate examples that come to mind when evaluating a specific topic, concept, method, or decision. Crucial for understanding how people make decisions and the biases that influence their choices.
A cognitive bias where people ignore the relevance of sample size in making judgments, often leading to erroneous conclusions. Crucial for designers to account for appropriate sample sizes in research and analysis.
A psychological phenomenon where the desire for harmony and conformity in a group results in irrational or dysfunctional decision-making. Crucial for recognizing and mitigating the risks of poor decision-making in teams.
A phenomenon where an item that stands out is more likely to be remembered than other items, often used in design to highlight important elements. Crucial for designing interfaces that effectively capture user attention.
The concept that humans have a finite capacity for attention, influencing how they perceive and interact with information. Crucial for designing user experiences that are not overwhelming and facilitate focus.
A cognitive bias where people assume others share the same beliefs, values, or preferences as themselves. Important for helping designers avoid projecting their own biases and assumptions onto users during research and design.
Also known as "Maslow's Hammer," a cognitive bias where people rely too heavily on a familiar tool or method, often summarized as "if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.". Important for designers to recognize and avoid over-reliance on familiar methods in problem-solving and design.
A heuristic where individuals evenly distribute resources across all options, regardless of their specific needs or potential. Useful for understanding and designing around simplistic decision-making strategies.
The ability to use learned knowledge and experience, often increasing with age and accumulated learning. Important for understanding how expertise and knowledge accumulation impact design and decision-making.
A cognitive bias where new evidence or knowledge is automatically rejected because it contradicts established norms or beliefs. Important for recognizing resistance to change and designing strategies to encourage openness to new ideas among designers.
The practice of designing products that evoke specific emotional responses to enhance user experience and engagement. Crucial for creating deeply engaging and satisfying user experiences.
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.
Managing product development with a focus on understanding and influencing user behavior through behavioral science principles. Essential for product managers to create user-centric products that drive desired behaviors.
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 phenomenon where vivid mental images can interfere with actual perception, causing individuals to mistake imagined experiences for real ones. Important for ensuring that marketing and product design set realistic user expectations to avoid disappointment and maintain brand integrity.
The emotional attachment an employee feels toward their organization, which influences their desire to stay. Useful for understanding employee retention and motivation in organizational design and management.
The phenomenon where people remember information better when it is presented through multiple sensory modalities rather than a single modality. Crucial for enhancing memory retention and understanding through multimodal presentations.
A decision-making rule where individuals choose the option with the highest perceived value based on the first good reason that comes to mind, ignoring other information. Crucial for understanding and designing for quick decision-making processes.
The study of how people make choices about what and how much to do at various points in time, often involving trade-offs between costs and benefits occurring at different times. Crucial for designing systems that account for delayed gratification and long-term planning.
A cognitive bias where people perceive an outcome as certain while it is actually uncertain, based on how information is presented. Crucial for understanding and mitigating biased user decision-making.
A theoretical concept in economics that portrays humans as rational and self-interested agents who aim to maximize their utility. Important for understanding economic decision-making and designing systems that align with rational behavior.
A mode of thinking, derived from Dual Process Theory, that is slow, deliberate, and analytical, requiring more cognitive effort and conscious reasoning. Crucial for designing complex tasks and interfaces that require thoughtful decision-making and problem-solving, ensuring they are clear and logical for users.
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.
A cognitive architecture model that explains how humans can learn and adapt to new tasks. Useful for understanding user learning and behavior adaptation, informing better user experience design.
The minimum difference in stimulus intensity that a person can detect, also known as the just noticeable difference (JND). Crucial for designing user interfaces that are sensitive to changes in user input and feedback.
The tendency to overestimate how much our future preferences and behaviors will align with our current preferences and behaviors. Important for understanding user behavior and designing experiences that account for changes over time.
A decision-making strategy that involves choosing an option that meets the minimum requirements rather than seeking the optimal solution, balancing effort and outcome. Important for designing user experiences that accommodate decision-making under constraints.
A cognitive bias where people ignore general statistical information in favor of specific information. Critical for designers to use general statistical information to improve decision-making accuracy and avoid bias.
A set of fundamental principles and guidelines that inform and shape design practices. Crucial for maintaining design consistency and ensuring high-quality outcomes.
The change in opinions or behavior that occurs when individuals conform to the information provided by others. Important for understanding social dynamics and designing systems that leverage social proof and peer influence.
A cognitive bias where the perception of one positive trait influences the perception of other unrelated traits. Important for designers to manage and utilize this bias effectively in user experience design.
The process of defining how a product is perceived in the minds of consumers, relative to competing products, to create a unique market identity. Essential for differentiating a product and attracting the target market.
A type of bias that occurs when the observer's expectations or beliefs influence their interpretation of what they are observing, including experimental outcomes. Essential for ensuring the accuracy and reliability of research and data collection.
The use of universal character types and personalities to define and communicate a brand's identity. Important for creating a relatable and memorable brand personality.
A cognitive bias where individuals overestimate their ability to control impulsive behavior, leading to overexposure to temptations. Important for designing systems that help users manage self-control and avoid overexposure to temptations.
A type of long-term memory involving information that can be consciously recalled, such as facts and events. Important for understanding how users retain and recall information in design.
The perseverance and passion for long-term goals, often seen as a key trait for success. Important for understanding and fostering resilience and persistence in design and product development.
The ease with which visual information can be processed and understood by the viewer. Important for creating intuitive and accessible interfaces.
The tendency for individuals to present themselves in a favorable light by overreporting good behavior and underreporting bad behavior in surveys or research. Crucial for designing research methods that mitigate biases and obtain accurate data.