Uncertainty Reduction Theory: An S-Tier Behavioral Designer’s Guide
Berger & Calabrese's Uncertainty Reduction Theory in plain English — 7 axioms, 3 strategies, the Sunnafrank rebuttal, and…
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The Blog
Ideas on motivation, behavior & design.
Deep dives on the psychology behind why people do what they do — from Yu-kai Chou, creator of the Octalysis Framework. Pick the topic that matters to you.
Moral Foundations Theory: An S-Tier Behavioral Designer’s Guide
Moral Foundations Theory proposes six universal moral dimensions — Care, Fairness, Loyalty, Authority, Sanctity, and Liberty — that…
Social Penetration Theory: 5 Stages + Onion Model Explained
Social Penetration Theory describes relationship development as a process of reciprocal self-disclosure expanding across breadth (range of topics)…
Pluralistic Ignorance: An S-Tier Behavioral Designer’s Guide
Pluralistic Ignorance is the gap between private attitudes and public behavior — when most people privately disagree with…
False Consensus Effect: An S-Tier Behavioral Designer’s Guide
The False Consensus Effect is the systematic tendency to overestimate how many other people share our opinions, attitudes,…
Emotional Contagion: An S-Tier Behavioral Designer’s Guide
Emotional Contagion is the automatic tendency to mimic and emotionally synchronize with the people around us — the…
Terror Management Theory: An S-Tier Behavioral Designer’s Guide
Terror Management Theory explains how the awareness of death drives our cultural beliefs, self-esteem, and the search for…
Hawthorne Effect: An S-Tier Behavioral Designer’s Guide
The Hawthorne Effect explained without the textbook fairy tale: what the Western Electric studies actually found, why modern…
Motivational Interviewing: An S-Tier Behavioral Designer’s Guide
Miller & Rollnick's Motivational Interviewing — the four processes, the MI Spirit, the Reactance bypass, and how the…