Simplifying Choices: Hick’s Law in User Experience Design
Continuing our exploration of the 10 key principles of psychology behind design, we now turn our attention to the third point: Hick’s Law. This principle, while perhaps less known than some others, plays a crucial role in shaping user experiences in our increasingly complex digital world.
Imagine you’re standing in front of a vending machine with 100 different beverage options. How long would it take you to make a choice? Now, what if there were only five options? Intuitively, we know that fewer choices lead to quicker decisions. This intuition is the essence of Hick’s Law.
Named after British psychologist William Edmund Hick, this principle states that the time it takes to make a decision increases logarithmically with the number of choices available. In other words, more options lead to longer decision times, but not in a simple linear fashion (Hick, 1952).
The Psychology Behind the Law
Hick’s Law is rooted in information theory and cognitive psychology. When faced with multiple choices, our brains need to process each option, weighing its merits against our needs. This cognitive load increases with each additional option, potentially leading to decision paralysis or what psychologist Barry Schwartz calls the “paradox of choice” (Schwartz, 2004).
