Use when you need to understand WHY certain UX patterns work. Covers cognitive psychology, behavioral science, and neuroscience foundations that underpin satisfying experiences.
Understanding why patterns work lets you apply them to new situations. These are the research foundations beneath UX practice.
This skill contains research-backed principles only. Each concept includes:
Researchers: Wolfram Schultz (1990s), Robert Sapolsky Field: Neuroscience
Dopamine neurons fire in response to prediction of reward, not reward itself. When a reward is expected and received, dopamine levels don't spike at reward time—they spike at the cue predicting the reward.
Schultz's experiments with monkeys showed:
Progress indicators work because they signal approaching reward. The anticipation phase is neurologically active.
Source: Schultz, W. (1998). Predictive reward signal of dopamine neurons. Journal of Neurophysiology.
Researchers: Daniel Kahneman, Barbara Fredrickson Field: Behavioral economics, Psychology Recognition: Nobel Prize in Economics (2002)
In studies of colonoscopies and other experiences, participants rated overall experience based on:
Duration had little effect ("duration neglect"). A longer painful experience ending gently was rated better than a shorter one ending abruptly.
Source: Kahneman, D. et al. (1993). When more pain is preferred to less. Psychological Science.
Researchers: Daniel Kahneman, Amos Tversky Field: Behavioral economics Recognition: Foundational to Prospect Theory (Nobel Prize 2002)
Losses loom larger than gains. In experiments, losing $10 felt roughly 2x as bad as gaining $10 felt good. This asymmetry affects decision-making: people take irrational risks to avoid losses.
Source: Kahneman, D. & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk. Econometrica.
Researcher: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Field: Positive psychology Timeline: Research from 1970s, book Flow published 1990
Csikszentmihalyi interviewed hundreds of experts (artists, athletes, surgeons, chess players) about their optimal experiences. Common characteristics:
| Condition | Description |
|---|---|
| Clear goals | Know what success looks like |
| Immediate feedback | See results of actions |
| Challenge-skill balance | Task matches ability |
| Sense of control | Autonomy over actions |
When conditions are met, people report:
Source: Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.
Researcher: John Sweller Field: Educational psychology Timeline: Theory developed 1988
Working memory has limited capacity. Sweller identified three types of cognitive load:
| Type | Description | Reducible? |
|---|---|---|
| Intrinsic | Complexity inherent to the task | No (task-dependent) |
| Extraneous | Load from poor presentation | Yes (design target) |
| Germane | Load that aids learning | Desirable |
Instructional design should minimize extraneous load to free capacity for intrinsic and germane processing.
Source: Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive load during problem solving. Cognitive Science.
Researcher: George Miller Field: Cognitive psychology Year: 1956
Miller's famous paper "The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two" found people can hold approximately 7±2 "chunks" in working memory.
Important: Modern research suggests the number may be closer to 4±1 chunks for novel information (Cowan, 2001). Miller's "7" applies to well-practiced, chunked material.
Sources:
Researcher: Hermann Ebbinghaus Field: Memory research Year: 1885
When recalling lists, people remember:
Source: Ebbinghaus, H. (1885). Über das Gedächtnis (On Memory).
Researcher: Bluma Zeigarnik Field: Gestalt psychology Year: 1927
Interrupted tasks are remembered better than completed ones. The mind keeps incomplete tasks "open" in memory.
Caution: Replication studies have been mixed. The effect appears real but smaller and more context-dependent than originally claimed.
Source: Zeigarnik, B. (1927). Über das Behalten von erledigten und unerledigten Handlungen. Psychologische Forschung.
Researchers: Sheena Iyengar, Mark Lepper Field: Decision-making psychology Year: 2000
The famous "jam study": shoppers shown 24 jam varieties were less likely to purchase than those shown 6 varieties. More choice led to decision paralysis.
Important: Meta-analyses (Scheibehenne et al., 2010) found the effect is smaller and more context-dependent than popularized. Choice overload occurs under specific conditions:
Sources:
These are practitioner heuristics with varying levels of research backing:
| Law | Principle | Evidence Level |
|---|---|---|
| Hick's Law | Decision time increases with options | [Research] |
| Fitts's Law | Larger, closer targets are easier to hit | [Research] |
| Miller's Law | ~7±2 items in working memory | [Research] (with caveats) |
| Jakob's Law | Users expect familiar patterns | [Expert] NNg |
| Aesthetic-Usability | Pretty things seem more usable | [Research] |
| Postel's Law | Be liberal in input, strict in output | [Expert] |
Source: Laws of UX