Baby steps into Behavioral Design

Not so rational
One thing that you could say about our species is that, sometimes, perhaps even too often, it behaves in irrational ways. Right? You don’t need to refer to any crazy global issues that are going on in the world right now, simply by taking a look around, you are gonna start noticing small things, that happens every day, things that we do, that doesn’t make a lot of sense, for example how we handle our economics.

Conventional Economics stands for the fact that people always make smart decisions, ones that they don’t regret. But sadly, we all know that’s not the case. This approach is logical, but not realistic at all since it doesn’t pay attention to the psychological factors that play a role when we make decisions. That’s exactly why Behavioral Economics, for example, was born.

If you are interested on Behavioral Economics I recommend you don't miss Freakonomics Radio.

A new approach
Behavioral Design is a consequent path of study or discipline, that shares the same point of view as Behavioral Economics but focus on Product Design.

Without any doubts, for those giving their first steps as product designers, or even if you are an experienced one who is searching for a new approach into product thinking, entering the waters of Behavioral Design is a one-way trip. Once you start taking into consideration the reasons that thrive our impulses and shape our behaviors, there is no turning back!

Why caring for human behavior?
Behavior science has poured light on how even the tiniest, unnoticeable of our daily habits can make a huge impact in the way we perceive the world around us. Embracing this new radically different perspective can make your product much more assertive and actually create real value in people’s lives.

Goodbye, comfort zone!
Before accepting the challenge of entering this whole new approach, you’ll need to be willing to invest a reasonable amount of time to the study of the information and experiments . You’ll have to commit to an exhaustive search of key information, which could take the shape of blog posts, talks, videos and a fair share of academic papers, authored by those who emerge as the top leaders on behavioral science.

Fundamental thinking
If you are considering giving your first baby step into this new behavior-centered Product Design approach, make sure you don’t miss this short list I’ve curated in order to help you do that. Here you’ll find some of the most notable figures in the field sharing some of their fundamental thinking:

Daniel Kahneman:
Nobel Award winner, he’s a key piece on this field, as he studied the basics of something he calls “Dual Brain System”, here is a short video explaining how this theory works. And next you’ll find a sample of his thinking:

“Why We Make Bad Decisions About Money (And What We Can Do About It)”

Dan Ariely:
Dan is really charming and funny character, but most of all, a key figure in the Behavioral Economics field. He got injured really bad when he was young, that experience became the trigger for his studies into human behavior.
Here is a small sample of his thinking:

“The Price of Free”

Robert Cialdini:
He’s a principal figure when comes the time of talking about persuasion. For example, for a study, he went undercover and got enrolled in several different jobs where persuasion had a big role in the outcome. His findings changed the whole thing. Here is a small sample of his thinking:

“6 Universal Principles of Influence”

BJ Fogg:
His work is fundamental for this discipline, no questions asked. A good part of his work focuses on habits, how they affect our lives, and how to modify them, or even create new ones.

“Tiny Habits”

Coffee brake
Please have in mind this quick shortlist is just a hint of what Behavioral Design really is.

The main goal of this post is to deliver a high-value takeaway about the key aspects of Behavioral Design, in a nutshell, so you can save that list for later and explore it while you enjoy a delicious cup of coffee!

Conclusion
The understanding of human psychology, irrationality, and how context influences our behavior, is fundamental in our lives as well on the products we design.

If you want to have a positive effect and change people in a truly fundamental way, you have to understand the most hidden secrets of the human brain, how it functions and how irrational it can logically be.

If you too are curious about how to apply this psychological technology into products, please don’t hesitate on reaching out to us.

Ingenious is a distributed product design and software development agency with offices in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Denver, Colorado, and a team distributed in more than five countries. We create products and build software that people want to use for challenging industry segments like healthcare, education, and government.

Hope you find this quick intro of good help on your journey to becoming a behavior centered product designer!