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What is Behavioral Design in UX? How to Tap Into The User’s Psychology?

As UX designers, we design interfaces for users to get the best experience possible. Many apps and websites seek to engage users for long periods and make them come back for more. It takes some skill to make your users spend more time on your app than others. 

Fortunately, all it takes is a simple tapping into the user’s mind and understanding the reasons behind what makes them attracted to these top apps and websites. 

Behavioral Design is a phenomenon that many businesses adopt to combine user psychology and technology to make a purposeful design interface. As a result, it has revolutionized the way companies think to design interfaces tailored to user psychology. 

In this blog, we will learn about behavioral design in UX design and know more about the psychology behind users. Let’s dive in. 

What is Behavioral Design?

Behavioral design is a framework that leverages human psychology to persuade users into initiating an action. Simply put, it is implementing designs that drive the user’s decision-making. It incorporates behavioral science to design the user’s environment and influence their behavior. 

Significance of user behavior in UX design

In recent times, businesses are looking to utilize a more user-centric approach in their designs. To motivate a user requires designing an environment that triggers them to use it. Therefore, it is essential to learn about human behavior to increase interactions with your app. 

In behavior, three things must be present to initiate action:

Motivation: People need to be motivated by a purpose.

Ability: How easy or difficult the task at hand is.

Trigger: Lastly, they require a trigger element to initiate action.

Keeping these three elements in mind will assist you in designing an environment according to the user’s behavior and at the same time, provide value.

7 ways your UX design can impact user behavior 

Now, we will understand a few ways where you can design your interface according to user behavior with some psychology to back it up:

  1. Make users do less work

Let us imagine you have two forms to fill. Would you choose the form where you need to fill in only your name and email or the one where you need to fill in your name, email, home address, postal code, and a few more unnecessary pieces of information? Undoubtedly, you would choose the former because it requires less work and time to complete the task. 

We find it tempting to do tasks that require less effort. Keeping this in mind, remove any complexities from the UX design. Eliminate redundant steps in the user flow and make the process shorter for users to reach their target. Moreover, break down large-looking tasks into small groups so that users do not feel intimidated and take them step-by-step.

  1. Have aesthetic-pleasing designs

According to Aesthetic-Usability Effect, people perceive aesthetic-pleasing designs as more usable than less aesthetically pleasing ones. This principle can be taken into account when designing your user interface. 

Ensure your interface is visually pleasing and is up-to-date with the current trends. Establish a visual hierarchy in your texts and make them consistent throughout your pages. Additionally, adopt color psychology to implement colors that draw the user’s attention and give your brand a unique identity. 

  1. Satisficing 

People want their problems answered quickly. It is human nature to be instantly gratified. People often skim-read the interface and find the quickest solution available to solve the problem. I am sure we are both guilty of doing this as well. 

However, the lesson here is to not aim for perfection because people accept the minimum standard required to solve problems. As a result, it is essential to structure the interface for users to scan the information comfortably. 

Moreover, make the options readily available to them. According to Doherty Threshold, productivity rises when a computer and its users interact at a pace of fewer than 400 milliseconds. Hence, people demand quick results.

  1. Incorporate social proof

Are you more likely to install that app with hundreds of reviews and 5-star ratings or the one with only a couple of reviews? We are social animals by nature, and incorporating social elements keep users engaged. 

Users get pulled towards an interface where there are more people. And where they can share their achievements with the community. Hence, it is imperative to add social links to your interface and design the UX emphasizing social interaction within the community. Thus, enhancing engagement levels and making the user stick with your app or website. 

  1. Perpetual habit

This principle states people rely more on their memory and habit to get a task done. We often have some tasks on autopilot mode, out of habit to conserve mental energy for more complex tasks. As a result, users require an interface that works according to their daily browsing habits. 

To understand it more clearly, let us take Jakob’s Law. Jakob Nielsen suggests people spend most of their time on other websites. So, they expect your site to work the same way as other sites. Hence, design your app or website simple and do not try too hard to make it stand out against your competitors. 

You do not want people to find out one particular function that does not work in your app when it works on several other apps. As a result, it prompts users to switch apps instantly.

  1. Enable safe exploration 

When a user operates a new app, they prefer to work their way around the interface before committing to it. For such assurance, enable safe searching around your interface. 

Make it easy for them to go back or redo whatever task they started. In addition, give them an option to perform a task later without committing anything to it, so they feel secure in your interface. E.g., “Try it later”, “Skip for now”. 

  1. Allocate space to memorize

Make it easier for users to remember things. Having overwhelming information and elements closely proximate to each other can baffle them. Hence, it is wise to group elements into relevant subcategories and take advantage of the ‘white space’ in your interface. Thus, giving them a little space to breathe. 

A fascinating principle to implement here is Miller’s Law. Miller’s Law states an average person can only keep seven (plus or minus two) items in their working memory. Therefore, it is better to organize content into groups between five to nine items for effective information retention. 

Empathize with people to make meaningful designs….

As UX/UI designers, we are selling users an experience, not a product. Having these psychological principles in mind, we can understand and predict human behavior more effectively. 

Behavioral design is the future of UX, and designers must keep catering to an individual’s specific needs and understand their motives to make a more purposeful user experience.

image credit: interaction-design

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