List of Cognitive Biases & Principles That Affect Your UX
Name
One-Liner
Category
Hick’s Law
More options leads to harder decisions
Information
Confirmation Bias
People look for evidence that confirms what they think
Information
Priming
Previous stimuli influence users’ decision
Information
Cognitive Load
Total amount of mental effort that is required to complete a task
Information
Anchoring Bias
Users rely heavily on the first piece of information they see
Information
Nudge
Subtle hints can affect users’ decisions
Information
Progressive Disclosure
Users are less overwhelmed if they’re exposed to complex features later
Information
Fitt’s Law
It’s easier to aim the bigger the target is.
Information
Attentional bias
Users’ thoughts filter what they pay attention to
Information
Empathy Gap
People underestimate how much emotions influence user behaviors
Information
Visual Anchors
Elements used to guide users’ eyes
Information
Von Restorff Effect
People remember more items that stand out
Information
Visual Hierarchy
The order in which people perceive what they see
Information
Selective Attention
People filter out things from their environment when in focus
Information
Survivorship Bias
People neglect things that don’t make it past a selection process
Information
Sensory Adaptation
Users tune out the stuff they get repeatedly exposed to
Information
Juxtaposition
Elements that are close and similar are perceived as a single unit
Information
Signifiers
Elements that communicate what it will do
Information
Contrast
Users’ attention is drawn to higher visual weights
Information
External Trigger
When the information on what to do next is within the prompt itself
Information
Decoy Effect
Create a new option that’s easy to discard
Information
Centre-Stage Effect
People tend to choose the middle option in a set of items
Information
Framing
The way information is presented affects how users make decisions
Information
Law of Proximity
Elements close to each other are usually considered related
Information
Tesler’s Law
If you simplify too much, you’ll transfer some complexity to the users
Information
Spark Effect
Users are more likely to take action when the effort is small
Information
Feedback Loop
When users take action, feedback communicates what happened
Information
Expectations Bias
People tend to be influenced by their own expectations
Information
Aesthetic-Usability Effect
People perceive designs with great aesthetics as easier to use
Information
Social Proof
Users adapt their behaviors based on what others do
Meaning
Scarcity
People value things more when they’re in limited supply
Meaning
Curiosity Gap
Users have a desire to seek out missing information
Meaning
Mental Model
Users have a preconceived opinion of how things work
Meaning
Familiarity Bias
People prefer familiar experiences
Meaning
Halo Effect
People judge things (or people) based on their feelings towards one trait
Meaning
Miller’s Law
Users can only keep 5±2 items in their working memory
Meaning
Unit Bias
One unit of something feels like the optimal amount
Meaning
Flow State
Being fully immersed and focused on a task
Meaning
Skeuomorphism
Users adapt more easily to things that look like real-world objects
Meaning
Reciprocity
People feel the need to reciprocate when they receive something
Meaning
Authority Bias
Users attribute more importance to the opinion of an authority figure
Meaning
Pseudo-Set Framing
Tasks that are part of a group are more tempting to complete
Meaning
Variable Reward
People enjoy rewards, especially unexpected ones
Meaning
Cheerleader Effect
Individual items seem more attractive when presented in a group
Meaning
Curse of Knowledge
Not realizing that people don’t have the same level of knowledge
Meaning
Aha! moment
When new users first realize the value of your product
Meaning
Self-Initiated Triggers
Users are more likely to interact with prompts they setup for themselves
Meaning
Survey Bias
Users tend to skew survey answers towards what’s socially acceptable
Meaning
Cognitive Dissonance
It’s painful to hold to opposing ideas in our mind
Meaning
Goal Gradient Effect
Motivation increases as users get closer to their goal
Meaning
Feedforward
When users know what to expect before they take action
Meaning
Occam’s Razor
Simple solutions are often better than the more complex ones
Meaning
Noble Edge Effect
Users tend to prefer socially responsible companies
Meaning
Hindsight Bias
People overestimate their ability to predict outcomes after the fact
Meaning
Law of Similarity
Users perceive a relationship between elements that look similar
Meaning
Law of Prägnanz
Users interpret ambiguous images in a simpler and more complete form
Meaning
Spotlight Effect
People tend to believe they are being noticed more than they really are
Meaning
Fresh Start Effect
Users are more likely to take action if there’s a feeling of new beginnings
Meaning
Labor Illusion
People value things more when they see the work behind them
Time
Default Bias
Users tend not to change an established behavior
Time
Investment Loops
When users invest themselves, they’re more likely to come back
Time
Loss Aversion
People prefer to avoid losses more than earning equivalent gains
Time
Commitment & Consistency
Users tend to be consistent with their previous actions
Time
Sunk Cost Effect
Users are reluctant to pull out of something they’re invested in.
Time
Decision Fatigue
Making a lot of decisions lowers users’ ability to make rational ones
Time
Reactance
Users are less likely to adopt a behavior when they feel threatened
Time
Observer-Expectancy Effect
When researchers’ biases influence the participants of an experiment
Time
Weber’s Law
Users adapt better to small incremental changes
Time
Law of the Instrument
If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail
Time
Temptation Coupling
Hard tasks are less scary when coupled with something users desire
Time
Parkinson’s Law
The time required to complete a task will take as much time as allowed
Time
Dunning-Kruger Effect
People tend to overestimate their skills when they don’t know much
Time
Affect Heuristic
People’s current emotions cloud and influence their judgment
Time
Hyperbolic Discounting
People tend to prioritize immediate benefits over bigger future gains
Time
Cashless Effect
People spend more when they can’t actually see the money
Time
Self-serving bias
People take credits for positive events and blame others if negative
Time
Pareto Principle
Roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes
Time
Discoverability
The ease with which users can discover your features
Time
Backfire Effect
When people’s convictions are challenged, their beliefs get stronger
Time
False Consensus Effect
People overestimate how much other people agree with them
Time
Barnum-Forer Effect
Some people believe in astrology and fortune telling.
Time
IKEA Effect
When user partially create something, they value it way more
Time
Planning Fallacy
People tend to underestimate how much time a task will take
Time
Provide Exit Points
Invite users to leave your app at the right moment
Memory
Peak-End Rule
People judge an experience by its peak and how it ends.
Memory
Sensory Appeal
Users engage more with things appealing to multiple senses
Memory
Zeigarnik Effect
People remember incomplete tasks better than completed ones
Memory
Endowment Effect
Users value something more if they feel it’s theirs
Memory
Chunking
People remember grouped information better
Memory
Picture Superiority Effect
People remember pictures better than words
Memory
Method of Loci
People remember things more when they’re associated with a location
Memory
Shaping
Incrementally reinforcing actions to get closer to a target behavior
Memory
Delighters
People remember more unexpected and playful pleasures
Memory
Internal Trigger
When users are prompted to take action based on a memory
Memory
Recognition Over Recall
It’s easier to recognize things than recall them from memory
Memory
Storytelling Effect
People remember stories better than facts alone
Memory
Negativity Bias
Users recall negative events more than positive ones
Memory
Availability Heuristic
Users favor recent and available information over past information
Memory
Spacing Effect
People learn more effectively when study sessions are spaced out
Memory
Serial Position Effect
It’s easier for users to recall the first and last items of a list
Memory