Article Archives
Here you’ll find all of our articles on topics on personal behavior design and consumer psychology. Whether designing customer behaviors or your own habits, you’ll benefit from understanding the research I share from user experience design, behavioral economics, and neuroscience.
How To Disarm Internal Triggers and Improve Focus
Use this 4-step method to handle unwanted thoughts that can derail your focusWhile we can’t control the feelings and thoughts that pop into our heads, we can control what we do with them. Research of smoking cessation programs performed by Dr. Jonathan Bricker, of the...
This Is The Most Important Skill Parents Should Teach Their Kids
As parents, we all want to raise kids who are smart and focused, especially in a world where digital distraction seems to be inescapable. (Even tech titans like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have strategies for limiting their children’s screen time.) Why? Because in the...
How to Master Hard Skills Quickly with “Ultralearning”
Scott Young is an “ultralearner.” He’s known for learning M.I.T.’s grueling 4-year computer science curriculum in just twelve months. He speaks six languages. In fact, he’s presented his lecturers to audiences in Chinese. It’s fitting that Scott is also the author of...
The Addictive Products Myth: Who Is the Culprit Here?
Nir’s Note: This article explores a new model for understanding addiction. I challenge the simplistic view that addictive products cause addiction. Rather, addiction is a confluence of three factors. Gasoline is highly flammable. But without oxygen and heat, it will...
1 Thing You Need To Know To Save You From Your Email Inbox
Is your email inbox taking over your work-life? Are you unable to get any “real” work done because you’re too busy responding to emails? Do you feel stressed, distracted, and overwhelmed when you see new emails pop up in your email inbox? You’re not alone. The average...
If Tech Is So Distracting, How Do Slack Employees Stay So Focused?
How Slack’s culture kills distraction by building psychological safety, telling employees to go home, and using lots and lots of emojis.If there’s one technology that embodies the unreasonable demands of the always-on work culture that pervades so many companies...
Stop Confusing Habits for Routines: What You Need To Know
Trying to build good habits can often backfire. Here’s why it’s important to know how habits are formed and when it’s better to stick with a routine instead.Habits are hot. Self-help articles extol the power of habits and books on the topic sell by the millions. Yet,...
Learn How To Avoid Distraction In A World That Is Full Of It
Distraction is a curse of modern life. Between our cell phones and computer screens, not to mention our kids and coworkers, our attention is constantly being diverted. It can become difficult to focus on any one task—or any one person—for very long. If anything, the...
[Focus Guide] How To Make The Most Out Of Your Time And Your Life
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi wrote that “few things are sadder than encountering a person who knows exactly what he should do, yet cannot muster enough energy to do it.”[footnote]Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience (New York:...
The One Fitness App That Hooked Me For Good
Nir's Note: This article is part of a series on "The Hooked Model in Action." Previous analyses have included Slack, Fortnite, Amazon's Echo, Tinder, and The Bible App. Note, I never take compensation for writing articles on my blog. Could there be a behavior more...
The Truth About Kids and Technology: Jean Twenge (iGen) and Nir Eyal (Hooked) Discuss Tech’s Effect on Children’s Mental Health
Recently, I was invited to discuss how technology might impact children's mental health at the Johnson Depression Center at the University of Colorado. I shared the stage with Dr. Jean Twenge, author of the book iGen and an article in The Atlantic that got a lot of...
Fundamental Attribution Error: Why You Make Lousy Life Choices
Nir’s Note: This post part of a series on cognitive bias co-authored by Nir Eyal and illustrated by Lakshmi Mani. Discover other reasons you make terrible life choices like confirmation bias, hyperbolic discounting, distinction bias, extrinsic motivation, hindsight...
Kids’ Video Game Obsession Isn’t Really About Video Games. It’s About Unmet Psychological Needs.
Many parents are concerned with their child’s seemingly obsessive video game play. Fortnite, the most recent gaming phenomenon, has taken the world by storm and has parents asking whether the shooter game is okay for kids. The short answer is yes, Fortnite is...
Here’s How Fortnite ‘Hooked’ Millions
Nir’s Note: This guest post is by Patricio O’Gorman, technology consultant and professor at Universidad de Palermo. If you have kids, you’ve likely heard about Fortnite. The wildly popular online battle game has amassed over 125 million players and hosts more than 3...
The Real Reason Apple and Google Want You to Use Your Phone Less
This week Apple follows Google by announcing features to help people cut back on their tech use. Why would the companies that make your phone want you to use it less? If tech is “hijacking your brain” with their “irresistible” products, as some tech critics claim, why...
How Bad is Tech Use for Kids, Really?
It feels impossible to tell if the technology our kids use should be celebrated or feared. A few years ago I wrote a book, Hooked, about how technology can be used to change our habits. I intended the book to teach startups how to build healthy habits, but now I’m not...
How Apps Can Shape Your Future Self
Nir's Note: This guest post is written by Jeni Fisher, a London-based Googler who consults startups on applying behavioral insights to achieve business and user goals. Early on in my role as an Apps partner manager at Google Play, I was drawn towards the...
How to Be Indistractable: Video by Nir Eyal
In this talk, I describe a new model for managing distraction — how to become "Indistractable." I'll write more on this topic in the coming months and I'm finishing a book with the same title. Also, please share this video with people who may benefit from watching it....
Peak-End Rule: Why You Make Terrible Life Choices
Nir’s Note: This post part of a series on cognitive bias co-authored with and illustrated by Lakshmi Mani. Discover other reasons you make terrible life choices like confirmation bias, hyperbolic discounting, distinction bias, extrinsic motivation, hindsight bias,...
How Netflix’s Customer Obsession Created a Customer Obsession
Nir's Note: This guest post is by Gibson Biddle, former VP at Netflix and CPO at Chegg. Gibson is speaking at the Habit Summit in San Francisco on April 11th. In 2005, as I joined Netflix as VP of Product, I asked Reed Hastings, the CEO, what he hoped his legacy...
Distinction Bias: Why You Make Terrible Life Choices
Nir’s Note: This post part of a series on cognitive bias co-authored with and illustrated by Lakshmi Mani. Discover other reasons you make terrible life choices like confirmation bias, hyperbolic discounting, extrinsic motivation, fundamental attribution...
Want to Design User Behavior? Pass the ‘Regret Test’ First
What are the ethical responsibilities of companies that are able to manipulate human behavior on a massive scale? It’s a question one hopes technologists and designers ask themselves when building world-changing products — but one that hasn’t been asked often enough....
Confirmation Bias: Why You Make Terrible Life Choices
Nir's Note: This post is co-authored with and illustrated by Lakshmi Mani, a product designer working in San Francisco. Discover other reasons you make terrible life choices like hyperbolic discounting, distinction bias, extrinsic motivation, fundamental attribution...
How to Regain Focus at Work by Slaying the Messaging Monster
Technology is taking over our lives, especially in the workplace. What can we do to put technology in its place to finally get focused work done? Below are resources, tools, and articles for regaining focus in your digital life. These are tools I use myself but is not...
How to Trigger Product Usage that Sticks
Nir's Note: This guest post is by Janet Choi, Senior Manager of Product Marketing and Content at Customer.ioMeditation, like any healthy habit, takes repetition to stick. But while the folks behind Calm, a meditation and mindfulness app, knew their product’s core...
Avoiding Bystander Effect: Getting People to Help Each Other
Nir’s Note: This guest post is by Max Ogles, who writes at MaxOgles.com. On March 27, 1964, Kitty Genovese was brutally attacked and killed in the open streets of New York City. What makes Genovese’s story so tragic is that police later discovered numerous people were...
Hyperbolic Discounting: Why You Make Terrible Life Choices
Nir's Note: This guest post is written and illustrated by Lakshmi Mani, a product designer working in San Francisco. Discover other reasons you make terrible life choices like confirmation bias, distinction bias, extrinsic motivation, fundamental attribution...
Here’s How Amazon’s Alexa Hooks You
Nir’s Note: This guest post is by Darren Austin, Partner Director of Product Management at Microsoft. Last year we added a new member to our household. I must admit that upon first meeting her, our initial impression was that she was a little creepy. Today though, we...
Technology Is Not Hijacking Your Brain (video)
Some tech critics will have you believe that technology is "hijacking your brain" or that it's "irresistible." Not only is that not true, believing such nonsense is dangerous. In my recent talk at The Next Web conference, I discuss: The difference between...
When Distraction is a Good Thing
Is distraction a curse or a blessing? Not giving full attention to what we should be doing makes us miss deadlines, fail classes, and crash into other drivers. Distraction certainly has a price. Nonetheless, we love our distractions! Social media, spectator sports,...
How to Use Psychology to Make Persuasive Video
Nir's Note: This guest post is excerpted from Nathalie Nahai's best-selling book, Webs Of Influence: The Psychology of Online Persuasion. A film, a piece of theatre, a piece of music, or a book can make a difference. It can change the world. - Alan Rickman, ActorWhat...
Tech Companies are Addicting People! But Should They Stop?
To understand technology addiction (or any addiction for that matter) you need to understand the Q-tip. Perhaps you've never noticed there’s a scary warning on every box of cotton swabs that reads, “CAUTION: Do not enter ear canal…Entering the ear canal could cause...
How to Use Personality Science to Drive Online Conversions
Nir's Note: This guest post is by Vanessa Van Edwards, lead investigator at the Science of People — a human behavior research lab. This exclusive book excerpt is from Vanessa's new book, Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People, which was recently named as one...
Technology Is Distracting. Here’s How to Fix It. (Video)
Our personal technology is becoming more pervasive and persuasive. Critics claim it is addictive, irresistible, and hijacking our brains. Instead of offering another knee-jerk reaction, here's my take on the peril and promise of persuasive technology. This is the talk...
The Strange Way Being “Good” Hurts Your Willpower
Nir’s Note: This guest post is by Paulette Perhach. Paulette writes about finances, psychology, technology, travel, and better living for the likes of The New York Times, Elle, and Slate. I learned how to respect authority from my father. At the top of a huge water...
Research Reveals How to Take a Better Break
Until recently, when I needed a break I’d grab my phone. Whether I was bored, mentally fatigued, or just wanting a pick-me-up, I felt relief checking the news, Facebook, or Instagram. However, new research suggests there are good ways and not-so-good ways to spend our...
The Unbelievable Future of Habit-Forming Technology
Nir’s Note: Jane McGonigal is a game designer at The Institute for the Future and bestselling author of Reality is Broken and SuperBetter. She’ll be speaking at the upcoming Habit Summit in April. (You can register here!) In this interview with Max Ogles, McGonigal...
Why Our Tech Obsession Might Be a Work Obsession
Nir's Note: Below is the transcript of an interview I did with David Burkus, an award-winning podcaster and author of Under New Management: The Unexpected Truths about Leading Great Organizations. This interview was part of a Heleo Conversation on the topic of...
The Secret Marketing Power of Evolutionary Psychology
Nir’s Note: Gad Saad is a professor of marketing at Concordia University and the author of The Consuming Instinct. He’ll be speaking at the upcoming Habit Summit in April. (You can register here!) In this interview with Max Ogles, Saad discusses the role of...
Your Ability to Focus Has Probably Peaked: Here’s How to Stay Sharp
Having a hard time focusing lately? You’re not alone. Research shows interruptions occur about every twelve minutes in the workplace, and every three minutes in university settings. In an age of constant digital interruptions, it is no wonder you’re having trouble...
