Role Framing

Roles are more persuasive than actions because they describe permanent benefits with implicit social cues. 

A course "for writers" is better than a course "on writing"

Specialize For Roles, Not Actions

Steps in a service being illustrated with twisted arrows

Depict Time in Easy Motions

Depict Time and Effort in Easy Motions

Good Vibrations

Customers are more likely to buy products when they feel a vibration or see a visual change while selecting them.

Add Vibrations During Purchases-min

Add Vibrations to Product Selections

Customers are more likely to buy products when they feel vibrations while selecting them.

Color Combos

This visual companionship feels like social companionship.

Lonely person prefers similar shades of purple

Lonely-Similar-Colors-min

Lonely People Prefer Similar Colors

Lonely people prefer similar colors because this visual companionship feels like social companionship.

Conservatives buy a greater variety of products than liberals, but this pattern reverses during crises (e.g., COVD-19).

Politics and Variety

Male chatbots improve satisfaction when they apologize, while female chatbots improve satisfaction when they show appreciation.

Chatbot Gender and Angry Customers

A 10% increase in hours of safety training reduced hazards by 6%-10%.

Safety Trainings Are Effective

Round Products

Tall and skinny products seem rational, while round products seem friendly and emotionally gratifying.

Skinny bottle is rational; round bottle is friendly

Chubby-Products

Round Products Seem Friendly

You feel more kinship with somebody who bought a similar item, especially when it was experiential (vs. material).

Bonding Over Experiences

Participants were less apt to trust strangers in a game if they had used their phone beforehand.

Smartphone Use Reduces Trust

We feel less empathy due to AI's lack of emotions, which can numb the anticipated guilt from questionable decisions. You can reduce this numbness by injecting AI tools with humanlike traits.

AI Interactions Trigger Immoral Behavior

Vertical Angles

Upward angles look effective, luxurious, and authoritative. Downward angles look easy, portable, and sustainable.

Two angles of coffee packaging. Upward angle looks luxurious, effective, and authoritative. Downward angle looks easy, portable, and sustainable

Choose an Upward or Downward Angle for Product Images

Choose the Best Vertical Angle for Product Images

What's the optimal angle for a product image? Why does it matter?

Researchers found that judges are more likely to cite previous cases as precedent if there's a Wikipedia article written about the case. And those judgements share similar wording from the articles.

Wikipedia Influences Legal Verdicts

Movies perform worse in foreign markets when lead actors look similar to each other. Foreign audiences struggle to distinguish and remember them.

Cross-Race Effect in Movies

Gratitude fuels a sense of meaning in life, which suppresses boredom. 

Grateful People Are Less Bored

Numbers and Attention

A listing of flights with a circle around a listing price of $2111

Repeat Digits For Prices in External Marketplaces

Show Repeated Digits in External Marketplaces

A new study shows that you can grab more attention in online marketplaces by choosing the right digits in your price.

A new paper describes a way to deliver optimal ads in real-time by studying the facial expressions of viewers. Sounds creepy.

Smart Ads

People Dislike Angular Furniture

Research shows that people prefer straight lines (vs. tilted lines). A new study found that music albums with straight lines perform better across metrics (e.g., chart rankings, expert ratings, listening time).

Album Design

Round Numbers

Round numbers feel larger. For example, a drink seemed more energizing with 100mg (vs. 102mg) of caffeine. Therefore, a round discount (25% off) often feels bigger. However, precise numbers feel unstable. You imagine 24.7 on narrow scale in which any movement — even a slight nudge — will change this number. Therefore, customers feel motivated to grab a precise discount (e.g., 24.7% off) because it feels like it can change (e.g., disappear) at any moment.


Round discounts seem big, while precise discounts seem urgent.

Show a Round or Precise Discount-min

Choose a Round or Precise Discount

Which discount is better: 25% off or 24.7% off. I used to think 25% would perform better, but a new study sheds light. 

Playing video games after work rejuvenates you because of the psychological detachment.

Video Game Psychology

It feels less harmful on the environment.

Customers Feel Less Guilty Wasting Organic Food

After bad service, businesses seem more sincere when they attribute their mistake to incompetence (e.g., lack of skills). It makes the apology seem costlier, thus more sincere.

Apologies and Incompetence

Magical Number 4

Humans feel choice overload when they see too many options. But how many options are too many? Try showing 4 options or fewer because of an ability called parallel individuation. If you see 4 items, your brain knows that 4 items exist immediately upon seeing them. You don't need to count them. But this ability collapses with 5+ options. Assortments with 5+ options will feel like a lot. Group these options into smaller sections in order to minimize feelings of being overwhelmed.

Four items are a critical threshold because of parallel individuation.

Show 4 Options or Fewer in Choices-min

Show 4 Options or Fewer in Choices

Four items are a critical threshold in choice overload because of an ability called parallel individuation.

Based on lab studies and real-world data, you're more likely to complete an online checkout when the weather is nice.

Sunny Weather Lowers Cart Abandonment

Customers give larger tips when they see an emoji in the vicinity because it actives a positive emotion.

Emojis Increase Tipping

Faces seem larger upside down, but letters and words seem smaller.

Upside-Down Illusion

Why Number 4

Digit Averages

You should typically reduce the left digit in prices. $5.99 feels lower than $6.00 because your eyes are anchored to the left digit. But $5.99 has a couple 9’s, which are high digits. Is that bad? Usually this effect is trivial because the left digit is more persuasive. Though it's important for prices in the thousands because customers focus on these left digits. Therefore, reduce digit averages for these prices. $2111 is more persuasive than $1999 because the average is lower (1.5 vs. 7.0).


The left-digit effect backfires for high prices (e.g., $1999) because customers focus on the later digits.

Reduce Digit Averages When Pricing in the Thousands

Reduce Digit Averages For Prices in the Thousands

Certain digits can make a price feel lower. Instead of reducing the left digit, sometimes it's more effective to reduce the digit average.

People boost their status by trying to be wealthy or cool. But these two ideas are inversely related: Try to be wealthy? Admirable. Effortlessly wealthy? Pathetic. Try to be cool? Pathetic. Effortlessly cool? Admirable. 

Trying to Be Cool

Customers believe that smaller packaging is more unfair than increasing the price. You can curb these negative emotions by transparently communicating the smaller size, while showing internal costs to justify this change.

Product Downsizing Seems Less Fair

Listing your home on AirBnb? Show a cute pet in your photos. You'll seem friendlier and increase bookings.

Cute Pets Increase Home Rentals

Friendly vs. Competent

Most salespeople believe that competence is more important than friendliness, but both are equally important at different times. Customers prefer calls that follow this sequence: friendly-competent-friendly. Even though a competent greeting (e.g., How may I help you?) is more efficient, customers prefer a friendly greeting (e.g., I hope you're enjoying this fine day?).

Customers are happier with support calls when they unfold in this sequence: friendly-competent-friendly.

"Hi, great day" is a better greeting than "Hi, how may I help you?"

Start and End Conversations With Warm Language-min

Start and End Conversations in a Friendly Tone

Which trait is more persuasive in a salesperson: friendly or competent. Researchers measured each trait.

Customers feel more curious, which intensifies their desire to buy.

Waiting in Line is Persuasive

Researchers have argued that people are economically and psychologically motivated to delay costs. But not everyone. Some customers want to pay more money sooner (vs. less money later). Why? They want closure. Otherwise tasks would linger on their minds. 

Some Customers Can't Wait to Pay

When customers see (and resist) a competitor promotion, they become more loyal to their current brand, spending more money with them.

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