SUNDAY REWIND: Five psychological principles of persuasive product design by Nathalie Nahai

In her talk, Nathalie uncovers five of the most important psychological principles that underlie persuasive product design online.

Endowed progress

The closer we are to completing a goal, the more likely we are to increase our efforts to close the last gap.

Sunk cost fallacy

The sunk cost fallacy means that we tend to keep investing in something we have already invested in (time, attention or money) without taking into account the overall investment.

Appointment dynamic

The above two principles give rise to the appointment dynamic. Once you are engaged with a product you have to come back and engage again to get a positive reward, which is what keeps us coming back for more.

Opportunity cost

We all value our attention, time and money and carefully weigh up the cost and opportunity cost of any choice we make. Our users do this so you must make sure your product provides more value than the alternative.

Hedonic adaptation

People become used to a positive or negative stimulus so the emotional effect of the stimulus is attenuated over time.  In other words we eventually become de-sensitised or bored of the same thing.

These principles are most powerful when used together in a loop of habitual behaviour, says Nathalie, and we should not just understand them but use them for good.

Watch the original talk: Five psychological principles of persuasive product design by Nathalie Nahai.