Nudge Patterns is organized into application areas. Each area gathers guides that explain an effect, rate its evidence and show practical cases with a label: supported, plausible or hypothesis.
Application areas: behavioral economics for product, marketing and more
The application areas of Nudge Patterns: from pricing psychology and product design to HR, finance and sustainability, each with an evidence rating.
E-commerce & Pricing Psychology
Anchoring, charm pricing, decoys, discount framing and progress indicators: how strong is the evidence, and what works in shops and on pricing pages?
6 Guides- Anchoring and reference prices
- Charm pricing and price presentation
- The decoy effect in pricing tables
- Discount framing: percent or euro
- Micro-commitments in checkout
- Progress indicators
Marketing & Brand Psychology
Social proof, authority, scarcity and tone of address: what research shows for copywriting and brand communication and where tactics mislead.
5 Guides- Social proof: general and highly specific audience claims
- Authority, trust badges and expert quotes
- Scarcity and urgency: genuine and artificial
- Loss aversion: an effect whose strength is debated
- Tone of address in copy: informal or formal
Digital Product, UX & Growth
Defaults, choice architecture, habit loops and dark patterns: what research shows for product design and growth.
In preparation- Defaults: opt-in versus opt-out
- Decision fatigue and Hick’s law in menus and dashboards
- Variable rewards, the Hook model and habit loops
- Goal gradient in onboarding and profile completion
- Nudge or sludge: cancellation paths and hidden options
HR, Leadership & Organizational Nudging
Biases in recruiting, defaults in everyday work and motivation: what research shows for HR and leadership.
In preparation- Halo effect and confirmation bias in recruiting
- Structured interviews and anonymized applications
- Affinity bias and team composition
- Defaults in everyday work, for example for meetings
- Incentives and the overjustification effect
Behavioral Finance & Fintech
Payment psychology and investor behavior: what research shows on the cashless effect, buy now pay later and biases, for educational purposes only.
In preparation- The cashless effect and payment methods
- Buy now, pay later from a behavioral-economics view
- Mental accounts in financial behavior
- Biases in investment decisions, such as recency bias
Sustainability & Green Nudging
Defaults, social norms and feedback: what research shows on sustainable behavior and how large the effects are in the field.
In preparation- Green defaults, for example paperless billing
- Social-norm feedback on energy use
- Feedback and comparison values
- Effects over time: do they last?
- Nudging and greenwashing