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ADVANCED UX
UX and the Psychology of Anticipation
Customer experience doesn’t start and end within the boundaries of a screen.
Hello, Anticipation!
Anticipation is a powerful, subtle force shaping a person’s experience before, during, and after their interactions with a product. Anticipation, while initially recognized as a feeling, is a psychological lens through which people form expectations, experience emotions, and decide whether to engage with a product again. Anticipation fuels the initial excitement of a new experience, informs expectations during use, and lingers as they wait for a product to arrive or a service to fulfill its promise.
Designing for anticipation means tuning into these layered moments — understanding what people expect, what they hope to find, and what will make their experience feel complete. Anticipation unfolds in touchpoints.
- Before they ever open the app, site, or product
- As they interact with it, and…
- As they close or end it, looking back on the experience
Each stage impacts how people feel about a product, whether they’ll use it again, and how they’ll talk about it to others.