Thoughts guide clicks: cognitive biases in UX design
How cognitive biases and heuristics influence user experience design and how you can use them specifically to create better digital user experiences.
Users don't always act as rationally as we expect them to as designers or product developers. This is because the human brain is influenced by cognitive biases and heuristics. These alter the way information is absorbed, processed, and stored. Therefore it also affects the way users interact with digital offerings and products.
Every time users interact with a product, the following happens:
- They filter information
- They search for meaning
- They act within a limited time frame
- They store parts of the interaction in their memory
Our design team has compiled a selection of cognitive biases and heuristics that they keep a close eye on when it comes to designing efficient and effective user experiences for websites and digital products.
Category: Filtering information 🔍
Hick's Law
The more choices users have, the longer it takes them to make a decision and the more cognitive effort is required to do so. With every additional button, link, or menu item, the effort required to make a decision increases.
Tips on how you can take Hick's Law into account in your UX:
- Identify areas with many options and reduce unnecessary ones:
Fewer choices = faster decisions. - Use progressive disclosure:
Only show what is important immediately, the rest when needed. - If reduction is not possible:
Arrange options logically and make them easy to understand, using familiar terms and patterns so that users can understand them more quickly.
Users have learned to ignore content that looks like advertising, is placed near advertising, or appears in places normally reserved for ads.
Tips on how to take banner blindness into account in your UX:
- Don't make important content look like advertising:
Avoid flashy banner designs or typical advertising placements. - Make relevance visible:
Place central content in the natural flow of reading and in familiar layout structures.
Category: Searching for meaning 🧭
Social proof is a shortcut in the decision-making process. When people are unsure or a situation is unclear, they adopt the behavior of others as "correct." The more people perform an action, the more plausible and appropriate it seems.
Tips on how you can incorporate social proof into your UX:
- Make trust visible:
Include user reviews, star ratings, or testimonials. - Emphasize popularity:
Display how many people have purchased a product or used a feature. - Use context:
Social proof is most effective in unclear situations (new features, complex offers). - Emphasize topicality:
"Just booked 15 times" or "500+ active users today" makes the proof tangible.
Familiarity bias
Users have a natural need for familiarity. The more often they experience something, the more likely they are to perceive it as positive. That's why new digital products should build on common patterns and familiar ways of interacting, rather than inventing something new unnecessarily.
Tips on how you can take familiarity bias into account in your UX:
- Use familiar patterns:
Design buttons, navigation, and forms in a way that users are accustomed to. - Repetition builds trust:
Recurring elements and consistent designs increase acceptance. - Introduce changes carefully:
Base new functions on existing interaction patterns.
Category: Acting within a limited time frame ⏳
Commitment and consistency
When users are asked to perform an action, the brain initially classifies this as a potential threat. However, small, simple introductory steps reduce this "defensive reaction." Once users have taken the first step, they are more likely to take further, even larger steps, as the brain strives for consistency in its own behavior. This is why multi-step forms often perform significantly better than long, single-step forms.
Tips on how you can incorporate commitment and consistency into your UX:
- Start small:
Make it as easy as possible to get started (e.g., with a short form field instead of a complete registration). - Increase gradually:
Ask for more complex information or decisions in later steps. - Use consistency:
Remind users of the decisions they have already made to encourage them to continue. - Break down barriers:
Each completed sub-goal reinforces the motivation to take the next step.
Discoverability
Discoverability describes whether users understand how to use a product just by looking at it. If the key elements are clear and visible, they can easily find the next step.
Tips on how you can take discoverability into account in your UX:
- Make core actions visible:
Place the most important functions or buttons immediately in the field of vision. - Provide clear orientation:
Users must know where they are and how to get back at all times. - Use visual hierarchies:
Size, color, or placement draw attention to what is important. - Don't allow dead ends:
Always provide a clear option to continue or go back.
Category: Storing in memory 💾
Endowment effect
People are more willing to keep something they already own than to purchase the same product again. They tend to overestimate the value of things they own, regardless of their objective market value.
Tips on how to take the endowment effect into account in your UX:
- Create a sense of ownership:
Personalization, saved settings, or custom dashboards make a product feel like it belongs to the user. - Let test phases feel like ownership:
Free trials or freemium versions promote loyalty; users are reluctant to lose something they already use. - Emphasize losses:
Notifications such as "Your saved projects will be lost" reinforce the desire to stay. - Visualize:
Progress bars or custom content quickly convey a sense of ownership.
Chunking
Individual pieces of information are grouped together into meaningful clusters. This reduces the load on the limited capacity of working memory. Clusters ("chunks") are easier to process, understand, and recall later because the brain condenses them into larger cognitive units.
The blog post you are currently reading contains 8 heuristics/cognitive biases. That's hard to remember all at once. To make it easier, we have grouped them into 4 categories (chunks).
Tips on how you can incorporate chunking into your UX:
- Structure information:
Divide long texts, processes, or forms into manageable sections. - Group visually:
Make related elements recognizable through layout, spacing, or colors. - Clearly structure steps:
Multi-step forms or checklists make it easier to keep track of things. - Promote recognition:
Chunks should have a clear reference or a common meaning.
Conclusion
Cognitive biases and heuristics are not obstacles, but tools: if you understand how users interact with digital products and how these interactions are influenced by irrationality, you can consciously design user experiences that are intuitive and user-friendly. We have also summarized the individual pieces of information in table form to give you a quick overview.
Category (user interaction) | Principle | Mini definition | Tips |
| 🔍 Filtering information | Hick's Law | More choice = longer decision-making time & more cognitive load | • Reduce options • Prioritize what is important |
Anchoring bias | Anchor information distorts all subsequent judgments | • Show expensive anchors first • Consciously control the order | |
🧭 Looking for meaning | Social proof | People orient themselves based on the behavior of others | • Make reviews visible • Highlight popularity |
Familiarity bias | Familiar things are preferred and perceived as more pleasant | • Use familiar patterns • Use consistent design | |
⏳ Acting within a limited time frame | Commitment & consistency | Small initial steps increase the chance that users will continue | • Start with small tasks • Use multi-step forms |
Discoverability | Users must be able to recognize core functions immediately | • Make the most important actions visible • Provide clear orientation | |
💾 Storing in memory | Endowment effect | Things that users "own" are overvalued | • Create a sense of ownership • Use fear of loss |
Chunking | Information is easier to remember when it is structured into groups | • Divide content into sections • Group elements visually |
Social proof