Psychology of Design track · 107 lessons · 14 hrs
Psychology of Design
106 principles that shape how people see, decide, and remember.
The cognitive biases and psychology principles behind every click, scroll, and conversion.
L1
How people seeVisual perception, attention, and the principles behind what visitors notice — and what they ignore.
30 lessons
L2How people decideThe cognitive and social biases that shape every click, choice, and conversion.
37 lessons
L3How people act over timeHabit formation, time perception, and the forces that drive — or block — repeated behaviour.
26 lessons
L4How people rememberMemory, retention, and the moments that stick long after the page is closed.
14 lessons
Cognitive load: why simpler wins
Lesson 1.1
Hick's Law: why more choices cost you conversions
Lesson 1.2
Anchoring Bias: why the first number wins
Lesson 1.3
Miller's Law: the magic number your brain can handle
Lesson 1.4
Von Restorff Effect: the one that stands out gets remembered
Lesson 1.5
Framing: same words, different decisions
Lesson 1.6
Decoy Effect: the option nobody picks but everyone needs
Lesson 1.7
Social Proof: why people follow the crowd
Lesson 1.8
Loss Aversion: why losing hurts more than winning feels good
Lesson 1.9
Reciprocity: give first, earn the click
Lesson 1.10
Scarcity: why limited things feel more valuable
Lesson 1.11
Mere Exposure: why familiar things feel trustworthy
Lesson 1.12
Goal Gradient: why the finish line speeds people up
Lesson 1.13
Hyperbolic Discounting: why now always beats later
Lesson 1.14
IKEA Effect: why we over-value what we build
Lesson 1.15
Peak-End Rule: the two moments that define every experience
Lesson 1.16
Zeigarnik Effect: why unfinished tasks stay in your head
Lesson 1.17
Confirmation Bias: why we see what we expect to see
Lesson 1.18
Priming: what visitors see first shapes everything after
Lesson 1.19
Progressive Disclosure: reveal complexity at the right moment
Lesson 1.20
Fitts's Law: make important things big and close
Lesson 1.21
Visual Hierarchy: control what visitors see first
Lesson 1.22
Visual Anchors: guide the eye to what matters
Lesson 1.23
Banner Blindness: why users ignore what looks like an ad
Lesson 1.24
Contrast: make the most important thing unmissable
Lesson 1.25
Attentional Bias: we see what we're already thinking about
Lesson 1.26
Signifiers: show users what to do next
Lesson 1.27
Law of Proximity: group what belongs together
Lesson 1.28
Aesthetic-Usability Effect: beautiful design feels easier to use
Lesson 1.29
Juxtaposition: place things side by side to shape how they're judged
Lesson 1.30
Nudge: small design choices that steer big decisions
Lesson 2.1
Empathy Gap: designing for users under pressure
Lesson 2.2
Selective Attention: users only see what they're looking for
Lesson 2.3
Survivorship Bias: don't learn only from success
Lesson 2.4
External Trigger: the prompt that brings users back
Lesson 2.5
Centre-Stage Effect: the middle option wins more than you think
Lesson 2.6
Tesler's Law: simplicity has a floor
Lesson 2.7
Spark Effect: lower the activation energy
Lesson 2.8
Feedback Loop: tell users what just happened
Lesson 2.9
Expectations Bias: users arrive with a mental model of your page
Lesson 2.10
Curiosity Gap: the pull of the unknown
Lesson 2.11
Mental Model: users arrive with expectations of how things work
Lesson 2.12
Familiarity Bias: we trust what we've seen before
Lesson 2.13
Halo Effect: one good impression colours everything else
Lesson 2.14
Unit Bias: one feels like the right amount
Lesson 2.15
Flow State: when users are fully absorbed
Lesson 2.16
Skeuomorphism: familiar shapes make new things feel safe
Lesson 2.17
Singularity Effect: we care more about one person than a crowd
Lesson 2.18
Authority Bias: we defer to experts and titles
Lesson 2.19
Pseudo-Set Framing: tasks feel more compelling in a group
Lesson 2.20
Variable Reward: the power of unpredictable payoffs
Lesson 2.21
Group Attractiveness Effect: items look better in a crowd
Lesson 2.22
Curse of Knowledge: experts forget what it's like not to know
Lesson 2.23
Aha Moment: the instant users get it
Lesson 2.24
Self-Initiated Triggers: prompts users set for themselves
Lesson 2.25
Survey Bias: feedback that tells you what people think you want to hear
Lesson 2.26
Cognitive Dissonance: the discomfort of holding two conflicting ideas
Lesson 2.27
Feedforward: show users what to expect before they act
Lesson 2.28
Occam's Razor: the simplest explanation is usually right
Lesson 2.29
Noble Edge Effect: users reward socially responsible brands
Lesson 2.30
Hawthorne Effect: people behave differently when they know they're observed
Lesson 2.31
Hindsight Bias: we think we knew it all along
Lesson 2.32
Law of Similarity: things that look alike are assumed to be alike
Lesson 2.33
Law of Prägnanz: the brain prefers the simplest interpretation
Lesson 2.34
Streisand Effect: trying to suppress something makes it more visible
Lesson 2.35
Spotlight Effect: users think they're being noticed more than they are
Lesson 2.36
Fresh Start Effect: new beginnings motivate action
Lesson 2.37
Labour Illusion: effort makes value feel more real
Lesson 3.1
Default Bias: users stick with whatever is pre-selected
Lesson 3.2
Investment Loops: the more users invest, the more they stay
Lesson 3.3
Commitment and Consistency: people follow through on what they've said
Lesson 3.4
Sunk Cost Effect: past investment makes it hard to walk away
Lesson 3.5
Decision Fatigue: too many decisions drain the ability to decide well
Lesson 3.6
Reactance: people push back when they feel forced
Lesson 3.7
Observer-Expectancy Effect: researchers influence what they find
Lesson 3.8
Weber's Law: users adapt to incremental change
Lesson 3.9
Law of the Instrument: when you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail
Lesson 3.10
Temptation Bundling: pair hard tasks with something enjoyable
Lesson 3.11
Parkinson's Law: work expands to fill the time available
Lesson 3.12
Dunning-Kruger Effect: beginners overestimate, experts underestimate
Lesson 3.13
Affect Heuristic: emotions make decisions faster than logic
Lesson 3.14
Chronoception: time feels different depending on what you're doing
Lesson 3.15
Cashless Effect: spending feels easier when money is abstract
Lesson 3.16
Self-Serving Bias: we take credit for wins and blame circumstances for losses
Lesson 3.17
Pareto Principle: 80% of effects come from 20% of causes
Lesson 3.18
Discoverability: users can only use what they can find
Lesson 3.19
Backfire Effect: challenging beliefs can make them stronger
Lesson 3.20
False Consensus Effect: we assume others think like us
Lesson 3.21
Bandwagon Effect: people follow what's already popular
Lesson 3.22
Second-Order Effect: consider the consequences of the consequences
Lesson 3.23
Barnum-Forer Effect: generic descriptions feel personally relevant
Lesson 3.24
Planning Fallacy: we underestimate how long things will take
Lesson 3.25
Provide Exit Points: invite users to leave at the right moment
Lesson 3.26
Sensory Appeal: engaging more senses creates stronger experiences
Lesson 4.1
Endowment Effect: we overvalue what we already own
Lesson 4.2
Chunking: grouped information is easier to process and remember
Lesson 4.3
Picture Superiority Effect: images are remembered better than words
Lesson 4.4
Method of Loci: anchoring information to a location improves recall
Lesson 4.5
Shaping: guide users toward a behaviour through small steps
Lesson 4.6
Delighters: the unexpected moments people remember and share
Lesson 4.7
Internal Trigger: actions prompted by memory or emotion
Lesson 4.8
Recognition Over Recall: seeing is easier than remembering
Lesson 4.9
Storytelling Effect: stories are remembered better than facts
Lesson 4.10
Negativity Bias: bad experiences stick harder than good ones
Lesson 4.11
Availability Heuristic: recent and memorable events feel more likely
Lesson 4.12
Spacing Effect: learning is more durable when spread out over time
Lesson 4.13
Serial Position Effect: people remember the first and last things best
Lesson 4.14