Marketing & Brand Psychology
Marketing has always used psychological effects, often with great confidence. How strongly social proof, scarcity or loss aversion work in practice is less clear than advice books suggest.
We sort these tactics by their evidence, show borderline cases and name where advertising tips into the misleading, for example with artificial countdown timers.
Guides in this area
Social proof: what audience claims support and what they do not
Descriptive and injunctive norms, the boomerang effect, and the question of how specific an audience claim should be.
Descriptive norm- Effect
- Context-dependent
- Transfer
- Partially supported
Specific reference group- Effect
- Preliminary
- Transfer
- Plausible
Injunctive norm against the boomerang- Effect
- Weak
- Transfer
- Plausible
Scarcity and urgency: genuine and artificial
Quantity scarcity, time scarcity and the line to deception: what research supports about scarcity and what countdown timers do.
Quantity scarcity- Effect
- Context-dependent
- Transfer
- Plausible
Time scarcity- Effect
- Context-dependent
- Transfer
- Plausible
Scarcity caused by others’ demand- Effect
- Weak
- Transfer
- Plausible
Authority, trust badges and expert quotes: what is supported
Milgram supports obedience, not trust badges. What source credibility delivers and why trust signals are a usability matter.
Obedience to authority- Effect
- Robust
- Transfer
- Hypothesis
Source credibility- Effect
- Context-dependent
- Transfer
- Plausible
Trust badges at checkout- Effect
- Preliminary
- Transfer
- Hypothesis
Loss aversion in copy: an effect whose strength is debated
Do losses weigh twice as much? What prospect theory supports, what has been contested since 2018, and what remains for ad copy.
Loss aversion in decisions- Effect
- Robust
- Transfer
- Plausible
Loss framing in copy- Effect
- Weak
- Transfer
- Plausible
Endowment effect and free trials- Effect
- Weak
- Transfer
- Plausible
Tone of address: what research on formal and informal gives us
Self-referencing, pronouns in service contacts and the formal/informal question: where the research holds and where it is simply missing.
Self-referencing through direct address- Effect
- Weak
- Transfer
- Hypothesis
Pronouns in service contacts- Effect
- Context-dependent
- Transfer
- Partially supported
Informal instead of formal address- Effect
- Preliminary
- Transfer
- Hypothesis
Pattern map
Patterns on the map
- Obedience to authority
- Loss aversion in decisions
- Quantity scarcity
- Time scarcity
- Source credibility
- Descriptive norm
- Pronouns in service contacts
- Self-referencing through direct address
- Injunctive norm against the boomerang
- Scarcity caused by others’ demand
- Loss framing in copy
- Endowment effect and free trials
- Trust badges at checkout
- Informal instead of formal address
- Specific reference group
Shaded: area of high evidence level