Cognitive Biases Flashcards
Hick’s Law
More options leads to harder decisions
Confirmation Bias
People look for evidence that confirms what they think
Category: information
Priming
Previous stimuli influences users’ decisions
Cognitive Load
The total amount of mental effort that is required to complete a task
Anchoring Bias
Users rely heavily on the first piece of information they see
Category: information
Nudge
Subtle hints can affect users’ decisions
Category: information
Progressive Disclosure
Users are less overwhelmed if they’re exposed to complex features later
Category: information
Fitts’s Law
Large and close elements are easier to interact with
Category: information
Banner Blindness
Users tune out stuff they are repeatedly exposed to
Decoy Effect
Creating a third option that is completely inferior to the target option but only partially inferior to the competitor
Framing
The way information is presented affects how users make decisions
Category: information
Attentional Bias
Users’ thoughts filter what they pay attention to
E.g. a smoker is more attuned to cigarette ads
Category: information
Empathy Gap
People underestimate how much emotions influence user behaviors
Category: information
Visual Anchors
Elements that are used to guide users’ eyes
Von Restorff Effect
People notice items that stand out more
Selective Attention
People filter out things from their environment when in focus
Category: information
Survivorship Bias
People neglect things that don’t make it past a selection process
Category: information
Juxtaposition
Elements that are close and similar are perceived as a single unit
Category: information
External Trigger
When the information on what to do next is within the prompt itself
Centre-Stage Effect
People tend to choose the middle option in a set of items
Category: information
Law of Proximity
Elements close to each other are usually considered related
Category: information
Tesler’s Law
If you simplify too much, you’ll transfer some complexity to the users
Category: information
Spark Effect
Users are more likely to take action when the effort is small
Feedback Loop
When users take action, feedback communicates what happened
Category: information
Expectations Bias
People tend to be influenced by their own expectations
Category: information
Aesthetic-Usability Effect
People perceive designs with great aesthetics as easier to use
Category: information
Social Proof
Users adapt their behavior based on what others do
Category: meaning
Scarcity
People value thing smore when they’re in limited supply
Category: meaning
Curiosity Gap
Users have a desire to seek out missing information
Category: meaning
Mental Model
Users have a preconceived opionion of how things work
Category: meaning
Familiarity Bias
People prefer familiar experiences
Category: meaning
Reciprocity
People feel the need to reciprocate when they receive something
Singularity Effect
Users care disproportionately about an individual as compared to a group
Variable Reward
People especially enjoy unexpected rewards
Category: meaning
Aha! moment
When new users first realize the value of your product
Category: meaning
Goal Gradient Effect
Motivation increases as users get closer to their goal
Category: meaning
Occam’s Razor
Simple solutions are often better than more complex ones
Category: meaning
Noble Edge Effect
Users tend to prefer socially responsible companies
Category: meaning
Hawthorne Effect
Users change their behavior when they know they are being observed
Category: meaning
Halo Effect
People judge things (or people) based on their feelings towards one trait
Category: meaning
Miller’s Law
Users can only keep 7±2 items in their working memory
Category: meaning
Unit Bias
One unit of something feels likethe optimal amount
Category: meaning
Flow State
Being fully immersed and focused on a task
Category: meaning
Authority Bias
Users attribute more importance to the opinion of any authority figure
Category: meaning
Pseudo-Set Framing
Tasks that are part of a group are more tempting to complete
Group Attractiveness Effect
Individual items seem more attracive when presented in a group
Category: meaning
Curse of Knowledge
Not realizing that people don’t have the same level of knowledge
Category: meaning
Self-Initiatied Triggers
Users are more likely to interact with prompts they setup for themselves
Category: meaning
Survey Bias
Users tend to skew survey answers towards what’s socially acceptable
Category: meaning
Cognitive Dissonance
It’s painful to hold two opposing ideas in our mind
Category: meaning
Feedforward
When users know what to expect before they take an action
Category: meaning
Hindsight Bias
People overestimate their ability to predict outcomes after the fact
Category: meaning
Law of Similarity
Users perceive a relationship between elements that look similar
Category: meaning
Law of Prägnanz
Users interpret ambigous images in a simpler and more complete form
Category: meaning
Streisand Effect
When trying to censor information ends up increasing awareness of that information
Category: meaning
Spotlight Effect
People tend to believe they are being noticed more than they really are
Category: meaning
Fresh Start Effect
Users are more likely to take action if there’s a feeling of new beginnings
Category: meaning
Labor Illusion
People value things more when they see the work behind them
Category: time
Default Bias
Users tend not to change an established behavior
Category: time
Investment Loops
When users invest themselves, they’re more likely to come back
Category: time
Loss Aversion
People prefer to avoid losses more than earning equivalent gains
Category: time
Commitment & Consistency
Users tend to be consitent with their previous actions
Category: time
Sunk Cost Effect
Users are reluctant to pull out of something they’re invested in
Category: time
Reactance
Users are less likely to adop ta behavior when they feel forced
Category: time
Law of the Instrument
If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail
Category: time
Tempation Bundling
Hard tasks are less scary when coupled with something users desire
Category: time
Dunning-Kruger Effect
People tend to overestimate their skills when they don’t know much
Category: time
Discoverability
The ease with which users can discover your features
Category: time
Second-Order Effect
The consequences of the consequences of actions
Category: time
Decision Fatigue
Making a lot of decisions lowers users’ ability to make rational ones
Category: time
Observer-Expectancy Effect
When researchers’ biases influence the participants of an experiment
Category: time
Weber’s Law
Users adapt better to small incremental changes
Category: time
Parkinson’s Law
The time required to complete a task will take as much time as allowd
Category: time
Affect Heuristic
People’s current emotions cloud and influence their judgment
Category: time
Hyperbolic Discounting
People tend to prioritize immediate benefits over bigger future gains
Category: time
Chronoception
People’s perception of time is subjective
Category: time
Cashless Effect
People spend more when they can’t actually see the money/prices
Category: time
Self-serving Bias
People take credits for positive events and blame others if negative
Category: time
Pareto Principle
Roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes
Category: time
Backfire Effect
When people’s convictions are challenged, their beliefs get stronger
Category: time
False Consensus Effect
People overstimate how much other people agree with them
Category: time
Bandwagon Effect
Users tend to adopt beliefs in proportion of others who have already done so
Category: time
Barnum-Forer Effect
When you believe generic personality descriptions apply specifically to you
Category: time
IKEA Effect
When users partially create something, they value it way more
Category: time
Planning Fallacy
People tend to understimate how much time a task will take
Category: time
Provide Exit Points
Invite users to leave your app at the right moment
Category: memory
Peak-End Rule
People judge an experience by its peak and how it ends
Category: memory
Sensory Appeal
Users engage more with things appealing to multiple sense
Category: memory
Zeigarnik Effect
People remember incomplete tasks better than completed ones
Category: memory
Endowment Effect
Users value something more if they feel it’s theirs
Category: memory
Chunking
People remember grouped information better
Category: memory
Delighters
People remember more unexpected and playful pleasures
Category: memory
Internal Trigger
When users are prompted to take action based on memory
Category: memory
Picture Superiority Effect
People remember pictures better than words
Category: memory
Method of Loci
People remember things more when they’re associated with a location
Category: memory
Shaping
Incrementally reinforcing actions to get closer to a target behavior
Category: memory
Recognition Over Recall
It’s easier to recognize things than recall them from memory
Category: memory
Storytelling Effect
People remember stories better than facts alone
Category: memory
Negativity Bias
Users recall negative events more than positive ones
Category: memory
Availability Heuristic
Users favor recent and available information over past information
Category: memory
Spacing Effect
People learn more effectively when study sessions are spaced ou
Category: memory
Serial Position Effect
It’s easier for users to recall the first and last items of a list
Category: memory
Haptic Imagery
Imagining how something feels when you touch it
Fogg Behavioral Model (FBM)
Behavior change occurs when three elements align: motivation, ability, and a prompt
ABC Model
A model to explain how behaviors are initiated, maintained, and strengthened/weakened
Stands for: Antecedent, Behavior, Consequence
