Learned Optimism: An S-Tier Behavioral Designer’s Guide
In 1985, Metropolitan Life had a problem the entire insurance industry had: half of every new sales hire…
Work with Yu-kai
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Behavioral Analysis
Articles on Behavioral Analysis — from Yu-kai Chou, creator of the Octalysis Framework.
Self-Perception Theory: An S-Tier Behavioral Designer’s Guide
In 1967, Daryl Bem walked into the cognitive dissonance literature and proposed that the entire towering edifice that…
Overjustification Effect: An S-Tier Behavioral Designer’s Guide
Short answer: The Overjustification Effect is the drop in how much people freely do an activity they already…
Reactance Theory: An S-Tier Behavioral Designer’s Guide
Short answer: Reactance Theory, developed by Jack Brehm in 1966, says that when people feel a freedom is…
Self-Affirmation Theory: An S-Tier Behavioral Designer’s Guide
The single most decorated finding in social psychology of the last twenty years was a 15-minute writing exercise…
Locus of Control: An S-Tier Behavioral Designer’s Guide to Rotter
Two players sit at the same losing screen. One of them sighs and says: “I should have built…
Grit: An S-Tier Behavioral Designer’s Guide to Passion & Perseverance
Angela Duckworth’s Grit sold over a million copies, won her a MacArthur “genius” grant, and became the single…
Stereotype Content Model: An S-Tier Behavioral Designer’s Guide
The first thing your brain does when it encounters a person, a brand, an avatar, or a country…
Realistic Conflict Theory: An S-Tier Behavioral Designer’s Guide
Short answer: Realistic Conflict Theory says hostility between groups comes from competition over scarce resources, not from personality…