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100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People, 2nd Edition

by Susan M. Weinschenk

June 2020

Beginner

256 pages

5h 38m

English

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The brain creates shortcuts

The Geon Theory of Object Recognition
Well, Maybe not Just One at a Time
People have a Mental Model of what they want to See and where they want to See itIf there is a Problem, People Narrow their View
Perceived Affordances on ScreensHyperlinks are Losing their Affordance Cues Too
Reading isn’t as Fluid as it SeemsSo is it Harder to Read Text that is in All Caps?
Readability FormulasCan you Read this Paragraph?Titles and Headlines are CriticalWhat you Remember of what you Read Depends on your Point of View
If a Font is Hard to Read, People Think the Task is Hard to do
Working Memory and Focused AttentionWorking Memory vs. Sensory Input
Why it’s an Urban LegendUsing Chunks to Turn Four into MoreThe Four-Item Rule Applies to Memory Retrieval Too
Repetition Physically Changes the BrainThe Power of a SchemaExperts Store Information as Schemata
Recognition is Easier than RecallInclusion Errors
Memory is Easily Disrupted
Memories ChangeWhy Eyewitness Testimonies are UnreliableThe Impact of Reconstructed Memories on User Research
A Formula to Show you how much you will ForgetDesign with Forgetting in Mind
Flashbulb Memories are VividVivid but Full of Errors
Applying the Concept of Progressive DisclosureCounting Clicks isn’t what CountsKnow who Needs what when
All Loads are not EqualMaking Trade-OffsUse Fitts’s Law to Determine Motor LoadsSometimes you want to Increase Loads
Mind Wandering is a Very Common PhenomenonWhy a Wandering Mind can be a Good ThingWhy a Wandering Mind can be a Bad Thing
Alter Our Beliefs or Deny the Information?Ask for Small Commitments
What Exactly is a Mental Model?
What if it’s Brand New and I Purposely want a Mismatch?
Tried-and-True Story FormatsClassic StoriesStories Imply CausationStories are Important in All Communications
People Love to CategorizeIf you don’t Provide Categories, People will Create their OwnWho Organizes it Doesn’t Matter as Much as How well it’s Organized
If People Feel Pressed for Time, they won’t Stop to Help SomeoneExpectations Change Over Time
East = Relationships; West = IndividualisticCultural Differences Show up in Brain Scans
Unconscious Selective Attention
Too Many Automatic Steps can Lead to Errors
A Mental Model about Frequency
One ExceptionDo age and Multitasking Experience Make a Difference?Some People Enjoy Multitasking
Why People can’t Resist Paying Attention to Food, Sex, and Danger
People Habituate to Auditory Stimuli
Signal Detection TheoryHow to Apply Signal Detection Theory
What the Casinos KnowOperant Theory and Design
Pleasure Chemical or Motivation Chemical?
The Pavlovian ReflexSmall Amounts are Even more AddictiveThe Dopamine Loop
From Algorithmic Work to Heuristic Work
Small Signs of Progress can have a Big Effect
Is Lazy Another Word for Efficient?Satisfy Plus Suffice Equals SatisficeDesign Websites for Scanning, not Reading
Provide Defaults
But for You, it’s SituationalPeople can’t Stop it Even when they know they’re Doing it
Competing Against 10 vs. Competing Against 100Building in Competition
Dunbar’s NumberThe Social Group Size Limit for HumansDoes that Number Seem Low to you?Is it The Weak Ties that are Important?Purposely Designing for Strong or Weak
Mirror Neurons Firing
Bonding in Online Communities
Online Interactions have the Same Rules
Ninety-Two Percent of Graduate Students LiedManagers Lie TooPeople Lie most on the TelephoneDo People Lie in Text Messages?
Syncing Plus Anticipation Equals Understanding
Tickle Laughter vs. Joy LaughterLaughter and Technology
Real or Fake?Questioning the 80 Percent Figure
The Controversy: Are Facial Expressions Universal?Cultural Differences in High Emotional Arousal vs. Low Emotional Arousal
No Emotions = No Decisions
Craving the Unexpected
People Need an Excuse
Pastoral Scenes Provide “Attention Restoration”
Pleasure vs. Anticipated Pleasure
Cognitive Dissonance TheoryScarcity and Exclusivity
People are Poor PredictorsA Built-In Regulator
People want what’s FamiliarThe Desire for the Familiar is Related to the Fear of Loss
Assume that Something will go WrongThe Best Error Message is no Error Message
Using a Website Under StressThe Yerkes-Dodson LawTasks are more Stressful than you May Think
Performance ErrorsMotor-Control Errors
Systematic ExplorationsTrial and Error ExplorationsRigid Explorations
Unconscious doesn’t Mean Irrational or Bad
The Unconscious Mind Picks up the Danger First
Too Many Choices Paralyzes the Thought ProcessWhy People can’t Stop
Spending Time vs. Spending MoneyPeople want to Connect
The Danger of GroupthinkBut Two People can be Better than One
Habit-Based Decisions vs. Value-Based DecisionsOnly One or The Other
Uncertainty Tips the ScalePeople Take Action Only if others Take ActionTestimonials and Ratings are Powerful
The Third-Person EffectWhy do People Deceive Themselves this Way?
The Real Deal CountsToys, Trinkets, and PlexiglasWhat about Samples?Is it Olfactory?A Pavlovian Response?

Content preview from 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People, 2nd Edition

Dedication

Dedicated to the memory of Miles and Jeanette Schwartz. Wish you were here to share the book with.

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100 Things: Every Designer Needs to Know About People

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9780136746959