4 psychology principles to help you better understand your users

Phylicia Flynn
1 min readDec 4, 2020
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

1. Peak-End Rule

This heuristic evaluation states that a user judges their experience based on their feelings at two specific moments, not on their average feelings throughtout. The two key moments that they judge on are the most extreme (peak) and the end.

2. Fogg’s Behavior Model

Motivation, ability and a successful trigger must all be aligned simultaneously for the user to take action. If the user’s motivation is low or a task is difficult to complete, it is unlikely the user will be successful.

3. Hick’s Law

The time to make a decision increases as the number of options increase. A reduction in the number of options presented to the user will help them make a quicker decision.

4. Miller’s Law

This law states that the average human can retain around 7 (plus or minus 2) objects in their short term memory. This law encourages “chunking” of information into smaller groups.

All definitions from UX Companion.

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Phylicia Flynn

Interior Designer transformed into UX/Product Designer. NJ transplant living in the Midwest. Has an affinity for dogs, spicy food and coffee shops. phylicia.co