A Psychologist’s take on UX Design – Part II

May 2, 2016

People keep changing their minds very often. It is better to observe them in action rather than taking their word of mouth about how they use a product
Short term memory is actually very short and often prone to errors. Do not make users remember things when moving from one page to another or when changing tasks
People can only remember 3-4 items at a time. Do not put pressure on their minds by filling up the page with unnecessary items.

People will always try to use technology to be more social.
People always turn to other people for validation, especially if they are confused. This is called social validation
If people do something at the same time, it bonds them together. For example, laughter bonds people
People tend to do things for you if you owe them a favor. Research shows that if you want people to fill out a form for you, you must offer something to them first. Not the other way round
When you watch someone doing something, the same parts of your brain lights up as the person doing it (known as mirror neurons). We have the tendency to imitate in our genes. So if you want someone to do something, show them that others are doing it as well

People pay attention to things that are different so if you make something different, it will catch the user’s attention
You can use the senses to grab attention. Bright colors, large fonts, beeps, and tones will capture attention
People are easily distracted. Do not flash things on the page or start videos playing unless you do want to grab their attention

(keep reading with us to find out more on this topic …)

References