User Psychology Principles

ELMA Framework

• Framework for how users make decisions: Emotion, Logic, Motivation, Reward.
  • Emotion: Start with emotional fuel.
  • Logic: Justify the emotional fuel with logic.
  • Motivation: Overcome the work required to make a decision.
  • Reward: Refill the fuel tank.

Psych Framework

• Created by Darius Contractor to make general principles more concrete.
  • Emotional fuel tank from empty to full, measured in "psych."
    • Negative psych elements: Consume fuel.
    • Positive psych elements: Add fuel.

Improving Areas of Low Psych

• Address areas of low or negative psych using user psychology principles.
  • Tap into emotion.
    • Steps: Strategy, identify core emotion, improve.
    • The Four S Elements: Selfishness, Sensory, Specific, and Simple
  • Improve logical appeals.
    • Features, statistics, credibility, and price.
    • Use MaxDiff surveys to identify strongest elements.
  • Motivational Boosts:
    • Reduce physical friction.
    • Reduce cognitive friction.
    • Add motivational boosts.
  • Strengthen Rewards:
    • Increase reward to users for completing actions.

User Psychology Map

• Breaks down how to improve Emotion, Logic, Motivation, or Reward at each step of a flow.