Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 6
UX Psychology II—Why Users Settle for Less
The presentation of too many choices is often the bane of digital design. With a brand new
TV, this might happen with the menus for picture quality. When the user gets the TV home
and turns it on, he gets a pale imitation of the sharp, bright screen he saw in the store. No
problem. A display is already appearing, inviting him to begin the setup. The user clicks
through screens for color, brightness, contrast, hue, and so on.
Instead of leading to simple controls, each of these takes him to a screen with more spe-
cialized choices. This might be fun for a visual designer, but our user is an accomplished
pianist who wouldn't know UX from UI. The user studies several items, and quickly feels
acute data overload. He tries different settings, but each only makes things worse. As confu-
sion overtakes him, he finds himself paralyzed by indecision. Finally, he concludes that the
default picture is fine.
A year later, his new girlfriend asks him: “Couldn't we brighten that screen up a bit?”
“I guess so,” he says, his subconscious knocking up against vaguely unpleasant memor-
ies. “But I kinda like it the way it is.”
This is a classic example of
cognitive dissonance
, or, as Merriam-Webster defines
it: “psychological conflict resulting from incongruous beliefs and attitudes held simultan-
eously.” The term originated with social psychologist Leon Festinger who coined it in 1957
to describe the behavior of a UFO cult whose supposed extraterrestrials failed to cause
Armageddon on schedule. The cult leader said these visitors had found us wanting, and
they'd decided on a mercy killing. Only members of his cult would be spared. He set a date,
told all his followers, and let the media in on it as well. When that date arrived, and the world
kept on spinning, the cultists shrugged off all hints of embarrassment, telling skeptics that
the Aliens had merely postponed the cataclysm. According to this revised theory, the cosmic
visitors wanted to give the cultists time to warn the rest of us that we better shape up. These
Aliens must be a patient lot. After 55 years, with no measurable improvement in human be-
havior, they're still biding their time. Maybe they've come to terms with our imperfections
and decided that we're okay after all. Even Aliens can suffer from cognitive dissonance.
In the case of the TV buyer, the dissonance is the conflict between his original desire for
the best picture possible, and his justification for finally accepting something less. He be-
