Hello. This is Devan Rome. Welcome to Part 8 of my 12-part series reviewing the concepts I’ve learned in CXL’s Digital Psychology and Persuasion Program. Here is a link to the course. In this series, I review the principles discussed and taught in the course. I also write about some of my opinions of the course. With that said and out of the way, I will now get on to this week (week 78’s) review of the course. I am now about half way through this 12-part series, and I am certainly learning a lot.
Let’s talk about the chart and science bias. It’s exactly what it sounds like. People are biased towards that stuff. Now the image bias. Images make claims more believable, even when the images are not probative.
People were likely to agree with the statement giraffes are the only mammals that cannot giraffe when they included a picture of a giraffe. Related photos increased truthiness. I find this quite helpful. I will have to be sure to use this in my web designs. Images that are relevant. Roger Dooley posits this is the case because it helps increase fluency. In general, you should use related images to make your claims more believable.
Now for the picture superiority effect. Text + image significantly helps memory compared to just text.
Now for the Von Restorff Effect. Basically, different = remembered. If you want your product to be remembered, make it look different. Von Restorff Effect helps with memory, whereas the contrast principle helps with attention. Make sure your CTAs stand out. Men often have problems with red-green color distinguishing. By this, I mean they tend to have more issues compared to women.
Now for the distinction bias. Viewing two things at the same time (for example, side by side) helps people highlight the differences. Showing things side by side can help increase the contrast, which you can use to make a more persuasive message.
Now for the bandwagon and cheerleader effect. The cheerleader effect says people appear more attractive when they are in a group. A woman who was picture by herself was considered more attractive when she was grouped with other people. You can use the cheerleader effect for staff, testimonials, etc.; group photos; photo montages. Experiments have shown that even a group as small as 4 can make a difference.
Now for the ambiguity aversion bias. People are biased against having ambiguity. Basically, it seems, they don’t like ambiguity. We have an aversion to things that are ambiguous. This is important for your websites. The more you can reduce and minimize the ambiguity, the better. Another study found that long, descriptive links got a lot more clicks than links that were shortened and have ambiguous URLs, like those you might get from a tool like bit.ly.
Now for the endowment effect. This says that we place a higher value on things that are ours. Basically, this effect explains the increased attachment people tend to have for items they have already experienced or had some investment in, often even to a miniscule degree. You can use the endowment effect by implementing free trials, helping you get some “endowment”. Another thing that can do this is allowing your users to “touch” your product, for example, shoes in a dress store. Also, in your copywriting and messaging, try to use sensory words, as it helps people get a “simulational” “feel” for the product, which may increase endowment. I will definitely have to try this in my marketing and web design.
Now for the Ikea effect. People consider things they assemble more valuable than the things they don’t. How might you do this? Let your customer assemble or customize your product. Also, co-creation helps you invoke one of Cialdini’s principles, unity.
Now for illusory superiority. People tend to overestimate their good qualities and underestimate their bad qualities. I think this is accurate. I think I will use this when thinking about myself. I will more often ask myself whether I’m overestimating my good qualities and under estimating my bad qualities. This might help me give myself a “reality check”.
Now for the utility vs. hedonism read. This is quite a good one. The key takeaways were that utilitarian product descriptions communicate value for highly expensive products, such as a $100 vacuum. However, hedonic product desiccations communicate value for less expansive products ($200 or less).
Now for precession numbers. People tend to prefer precise numbers over even numbers. People found that “precisely” priced projects as more valuable. They tend to find them more believable and less inflated. Roger Dooley says that in general, precision will work well for. Now for the quiz. Passed.
Now for anchoring. I’ve learned and read about this one A LOT. People have a bias towards the first piece of information encountered. Dan Ariely found that people’s price value for an object can be influenced by last two digits of their cell phone number. Basically, even unrelated numbers can create anchors. Wow. Crazy. This principle is definitely important for pricing pages. When anchoring, Dooley says to try and throw that higher number out first.
Now for price illusion. Basically, big numbers seem more valuable. One example of this is how businesses create their own “points” system. Man, I dislike this stuff. This explains why a lot of cards say they’ll give you stuff like 75,000 points.
Now the mere exposure effect. Basically, this says “familiar = good”. Often, people think that things they see a lot as “better.” This explains the important of getting attention. You can do this effect in your marketing by using repetition in your marketing. Also, if your brand resembles another, this may help. This is one reason you may not want to get “too” creative with your product / branding.
Now for the decoy effect. One way marketers use this is by using a less attractive offer to boost sales of a similar offer. I’ve seen this before, if I recall correctly.
Now for the extrinsic Inentives bias. Basically, it says the importance of money and other similar things can be overestimated. To apply this, don’t often make price reductions your first priority, as you may be overestimating the effect of price as an incentive. Great video. Sounds about right.
Now for the paradox of choice. Basically, it says that giving more choice does not increase satisfaction. You can apply this by having fewer options. Limiting choices can help increase sales. Another way you may use this principle is by “guiding” the customer. You may do this via the following (note: this is coming from a slide in the course) – use quotes like “our recommendation”, “house specialty”, “today only”, “most popular”, photos or illustrations, bigger boxes, frames, etc. I think those first 4 (the ones in quotes) are quite accurate and often overlooked. Basically, you make the choices look less ambiguous. Make it easier for your client / customer to decide.
