User experience encompasses all aspects of the end-user’s interaction with the company, its services, and its products.
Nielsen Norman Group
In UX design, the focus isn’t just on the product but on the interaction with the user, underlining the importance of psychology. User experience encompasses a person’s emotions and attitudes towards a product or service, making it essential for designers to understand the user. The article I worked with for this blog post explores key psychological phenomena and how they can be applied in design practices, emphasising the close relationship between psychology and user experience.1
Key Psychological Phenomena
- The Principle of Least Effort
- The Principle of Perpetual Habit
- The Principle of Socialisation
- The Principle of Emotional Contagion
- The Principle of Identity
- The Principle of Beauty
- The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two
- The Psychology of Mistakes
- Focus, Attention, and Concentration
1. The Principle of Least Effort
The Principle of Least Effort states that users prefer to complete tasks with minimal effort. This principle can be applied in a number of ways – for example, showing real-life examples when you need to explain something to your users, using concise text, grouping similar information with sorting and filtering options, recognising clickable and non-clickable elements, and ensuring readability in font choices. These strategies aim to optimise the user’s experience and make interaction with the product simple and efficient.
2. The Principle of Perpetual Habit
The Principle of Perpetual Habit states that people rely on memories and habits in their interactions. For example, an interruption to the usual procedure at an airport can lead to confusion. Users also expect certain elements in certain places in web and app design. As a UX designer, it is important to maintain traditional layouts and simple navigation. This way, users can quickly find their way around and navigate the website, with the most important pages easily accessible to ensure a comfortable and intuitive user experience.
3. The Principle of Socialisation
The Principle of Socialisation highlights the human desire to be social and emphasises the importance of social aspects in design for connecting and engaging with users. To address this, UX designers should incorporate social media buttons for easy access to social platforms to increase user engagement and create a direct communication channel. In addition, elements such as product ratings, reviews or testimonials can satisfy users‘ subconscious desire for social validation and encourage them to follow the actions of other satisfied customers.
4. The Principle of Emotional Contagion
The Principle of Emotional Contagion recognises that emotions are contagious and can influence user behaviour. As a UX designer, tapping into users‘ emotional selves through stimulating images and stories can be very effective.
5. The Principle of Identity
The Principle of Identity describes people’s need for a sense of uniqueness and belonging. This principle is reflected in the popularity of customizable applications and websites, as well as users‘ affinity for certain brands. These strategies include unique brand elements, providing feedback at every stage of user interaction, and respectfully gathering user feedback, all of which contribute to a more personalised and engaging user experience.
6. The Principle of Beauty
The Principle of Beauty is based on a preference for aesthetically pleasing elements. People are naturally drawn to beauty in various aspects of life, and this also applies to UX design. To keep this in mind, UX designers should focus on designing visually appealing interfaces, following consistent design system, keep up to date with market trends and take inspiration from best practice examples. An attractive, modern design is often perceived as innovative and high-quality and significantly improves the user experience.
7. The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two
The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two is based on an article of the same name by George A. Miller. It states that people can store around five to nine things in their short-term memory. For UX design, this means that users should not be overwhelmed with too many options or information at once. Limiting the number of products per page in an online store or grouping similar actions in an interface helps users process information more efficiently. Gradual disclosure of information is also recommended, especially during the onboarding process.
8. The Psychology of Mistakes
The Psychology of Mistakes acknowledges that everyone makes mistakes – and mistakes often leads to negative emotions like frustration. In UX design, errors can arise from contra-intuitive or unclear interfaces that prevent the user from achieving their goals. To counteract this, designers should anticipate potential user errors, provide clear confirmations of actions, offer undo options for control and provide specific feedback on errors, for example when validating data formats. This approach helps to create a forgiving and user-friendly experience.
9. Focus, Attention, and Concentration
Focus, Attention, and Concentration underlines that understanding the limited attention span of adults, which is usually 10 to 20 minutes, is crucial. The job of a UX designer is to capture and maintain the user’s attention by minimizing distractions and providing engaging elements. Strategies include avoiding excessive pop-ups, banners, or sounds to distract the users and ensuring a clear and memorable UI design. In addition, guiding users through processes with visible timelines can help keep them focused and informed of their progress.
