Behavioral Game Theory
The study of strategic decision making, incorporating psychological insights into traditional game theory models. Useful for understanding complex user interactions and designing systems that account for strategic behavior.
74 topics found for:
“psychological theory”
Theory of Reasoned Action
A psychological theory that predicts an individual's behavior based on their intention, which is influenced by their attitudes and subjective norms. Important for understanding and predicting user behavior and designing interventions to influence actions.
Cannon-Bard Theory
A theory of emotion suggesting that physical and emotional responses to stimuli occur simultaneously and independently. Important for understanding user emotions and designing empathetic user experiences.
Attribution Theory
A theory that explains how individuals determine the causes of behavior and events, including the distinction between internal and external attributions. Crucial for understanding user behavior and designing experiences that address both internal and external factors.
Behavioral Learning Theory
The theory that all behaviors are acquired through conditioning, often used to understand and influence behavior change. Important for designing interventions that promote positive behavior change.
Multimodal Theory
A theory that explains how information is processed through different sensory modalities, such as visual, auditory, and tactile. Important for designing user experiences that engage multiple senses for better interaction and understanding.
Reciprocal Determinism
A theory that a person's behavior is influenced by and influences personal factors and the environment, creating a continuous loop of interaction between these elements. Important for understanding how behavior, personal factors, and environmental contexts dynamically interact to shape user experiences and outcomes.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
A psychological theory proposed by Abraham Maslow that outlines a five-tier model of human needs, ranging from basic physiological needs to self-actualization. Crucial for designing products and services that address various levels of user needs.
Emergence
A key aspect of Gestalt psychology where complex patterns arise out of relatively simple interactions. Crucial for understanding how users perceive complex designs and patterns.
Paradox of Value
An economic theory that explains why some necessities, such as water, are less expensive than non-essentials, like diamonds, despite their greater utility. Useful for understanding consumer behavior and designing pricing strategies.
Expectancy Theory
A motivational theory suggesting that individuals are motivated to act based on the expected outcomes of their actions and the attractiveness of those outcomes. Important for understanding motivation and behavior, distinct from decision-making under uncertainty.
Incentive Theory
A theory of motivation that explains behavior as driven by a desire for rewards or incentives. Crucial for designing systems that effectively motivate and engage users.
Humanistic Theory
A psychological perspective that emphasizes the study of the whole person and the uniqueness of each individual, focusing on concepts such as self-actualization and personal growth. Crucial for understanding and designing experiences that cater to individual user needs and potential.
Optimal Arousal Theory
A theory that suggests there is an optimal level of arousal for peak performance, and too much or too little arousal can negatively impact performance. Important for designing experiences that keep users engaged without overwhelming them.
Dual Process Theory
A framework suggesting there are two systems of thinking: System 1 (fast, automatic) and System 2 (slow, deliberate), influencing decision-making and behavior. Crucial for understanding how users process information and make decisions.
Narrative Theory
A framework that explores the structure and function of stories and how they influence human cognition and behavior. Important for creating compelling and meaningful user experiences through storytelling.
Risk-as-Feelings Theory
A theory that emphasizes the role of emotions in risk perception and decision-making, where feelings about risk often diverge from cognitive assessments. Important for designing systems that account for emotional responses to risk and improve decision-making.
Motivation Theory
A framework for understanding what drives individuals to act, involving theories such as Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Important for designing products and experiences that align with users' intrinsic and extrinsic motivations.
Self-Determination Theory
A theory of motivation that emphasizes the importance of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in fostering intrinsic motivation and psychological well-being. Important for understanding how to design experiences that support user motivation and well-being.
Learning Theory
The study of how people acquire knowledge, skills, and behaviors through experience, practice, and instruction. Useful for creating educational content and interactive tutorials that enhance user learning.
Gestalt Theory
A set of principles describing how the human mind organizes visual information into meaningful wholes. Crucial for designing intuitive digital interfaces and cohesive user experiences that align with natural human perception patterns.
Prospect-Refuge
A theory in environmental psychology that suggests people prefer environments where they can see (prospect) without being seen (refuge). Useful for understanding environmental design and creating spaces that feel safe and inviting.
Miller’s Law
Also known as Magical Number 7 +/- 2, a theory in cognitive psychology that states the average number of objects an individual can hold in working memory is about seven. Crucial for designing user interfaces that align with human cognitive limitations.
Levels-of-Processing Effect
A theory that suggests the depth of processing (shallow to deep) affects how well information is remembered. Important for designing educational content and user interfaces that enhance memory retention.
Negativity Effect
The tendency for negative information to have a greater impact on one's psychological state and processes than neutral or positive information. Important for understanding and mitigating the impact of negative information.
System One
A mode of thinking, derived from Dual Process Theory, that is fast, automatic, and intuitive, often relying on heuristics and immediate impressions. Important for understanding how users make quick decisions and respond to design elements instinctively, aiding in the creation of intuitive and user-friendly interfaces.
Invariance
A key aspect of Gestalt psychology in which simple geometrical objects are recognized independent of rotation, translation, and scale. Crucial for understanding how users perceive and recognize patterns in design.
Information Foraging
The theory that users search for information in a manner similar to animals foraging for food, aiming to maximize value while minimizing effort. Important for designing efficient and user-centered information retrieval systems.
Depth of Processing
A theory suggesting that information processed at a deeper, more meaningful level is better remembered than information processed at a shallow level. Crucial for designing educational and informational content that enhances retention and understanding.
Archetypes
Universal, symbolic patterns and images that derive from the collective unconscious, used in design to create meaningful and resonant experiences. Useful for creating designs that tap into universal human experiences and emotions.
ZPD
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is a concept in educational psychology that describes the difference between what a learner can do independently and what they can achieve with guidance and support. Crucial for designing effective educational experiences and scaffolding that promote optimal learning and skill development.
Scarcity Principle
The economic theory that suggests limited availability of a resource increases its value, influencing decision-making and behavior. Important for creating urgency and increasing perceived value in marketing.
Focusing Effect
A cognitive bias where people place too much importance on one aspect of an event, causing errors in judgment. Important for understanding decision-making and designing interfaces that provide balanced information.
Integrated Behavior Model
A framework that combines multiple theories to explain and predict behavior, focusing on intention, knowledge, skills, environmental constraints, and habits. Crucial for designing interventions that effectively change user behavior.
Certainty Effect
A cognitive bias where people give greater weight to outcomes that are certain compared to those that are merely probable. Important for designers to consider how users weigh certain outcomes more heavily in their decision-making.
Bounded Rationality
A concept that humans make decisions within the limits of their knowledge, cognitive capacity, and available time, leading to satisficing rather than optimal solutions. Crucial for designing systems and processes that account for human cognitive limitations and decision-making processes.
Messenger Effect
The phenomenon where the credibility of the source of information influences how the message is received and acted upon. Crucial for designing communication strategies that leverage trusted sources.
Narratology
The study of narrative and narrative structure and the ways that these affect our perception. Useful for understanding and applying narrative techniques in design and communication.
Social Learning Theory
A theory that suggests people learn behaviors, skills, and attitudes through observing and imitating others, as well as through direct experiences. Crucial for understanding how users acquire new behaviors and designing educational or training programs.
Prospect Theory
A behavioral economic theory that describes how people choose between probabilistic alternatives that involve risk, where the probabilities of outcomes are known. Crucial for understanding decision-making under risk and designing systems that align with user behavior.
Regulatory Focus Theory
A theory that describes how individuals pursue goals using either a promotion focus (seeking gains) or a prevention focus (avoiding losses). Crucial for designing motivation strategies and understanding user behavior in goal pursuit.
Decision Theory
The study of how individuals make choices among alternatives and the principles that guide these choices. Important for designing decision-making processes and interfaces that help users make informed choices.
Cognitive Theory
The study of mental processes such as perception, memory, reasoning, and problem-solving. Important for designing interfaces that align with how users process information and make decisions.
Cognitive Load Theory
A theory that explains how the amount of mental effort required to process information can impact user experience and task performance. Important for designing user interfaces that minimize unnecessary cognitive effort, enhancing usability and user satisfaction.
Behavioral Theory
The study of the principles that govern human behavior, including how people respond to stimuli and learn from their environment. Crucial for designing user experiences that anticipate and influence user behavior.
Risk Compensation
The theory that people adjust their behavior in response to the perceived level of risk, often taking more risks when they feel more protected. Important for designing safety features and understanding behavior changes in response to risk perception.
Recency Effect
A cognitive bias where individuals better remember the most recent information they have encountered, influencing decision-making and memory recall. Important for designing user experiences that leverage or mitigate the impact of recent information.
Recognition Heuristic
A cognitive shortcut that relies on the recognition of one option over another to make a decision, often used when individuals have limited information. Crucial for designing interfaces and experiences that facilitate quick and effective decision-making.
Ratio Bias
A cognitive bias where people judge the likelihood of an event based on its relative size rather than absolute probability. Important for understanding user decision-making biases and designing systems that present information accurately.
Automaticity
The ability to perform actions or behaviors automatically due to learning, repetition, and practice. Important for understanding user habits and designing intuitive user interfaces.
Reference Dependence
A cognitive bias where individuals evaluate outcomes relative to a reference point rather than on an absolute scale. Essential for understanding decision-making and consumer behavior.
Reciprocity
A social norm of responding to a positive action with another positive action, fostering mutual benefit and cooperation. Important for designing user experiences and systems that encourage positive reciprocal interactions.
Reciprocal Altruism
A behavior in which an individual provides a benefit to another with the expectation that the favor will be returned in the future, fostering mutual cooperation and long-term relationships. Important for building trust, cooperation, and mutually beneficial relationships in various social and professional contexts.
Behaviorism
A theoretical approach that focuses on observable behaviors and dismisses internal processes, emphasizing the role of environmental factors in shaping behavior. Foundational for understanding how external factors influence user behavior and for designing behavior-based interventions.
Framing
The way information is presented to users, which can significantly influence their decisions and perceptions. Important for designing messages and interfaces that guide user choices effectively.
Ego States
A concept in transactional analysis that describes three different aspects of the self: Parent, Adult, and Child, each influencing behavior and communication. Important for designing communication strategies and interfaces that resonate with different user states.
Information Processing
The series of actions or operations involved in the acquisition, interpretation, storage, and retrieval of information. Crucial for understanding how users handle information and designing systems that align with cognitive processes.
Pseudocertainty Effect
A cognitive bias where people perceive an outcome as certain while it is actually uncertain, based on how information is presented. Crucial for understanding and mitigating biased user decision-making.
Brand Archetypes
The use of universal character types and personalities to define and communicate a brand's identity. Important for creating a relatable and memorable brand personality.
Product Positioning
The process of defining how a product is perceived in the minds of consumers, relative to competing products, to create a unique market identity. Essential for differentiating a product and attracting the target market.