Cognitive Dissonance

Klima An anti-churn strategy

Users may use commitment features less, e.g., subscriptions, even if they'd benefit, because signing up triggers cognitive dissonance with how they see themselves.

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Sunlitt Showing off their 3D modeling

One Sec Look at yourself, go on

It's possible users break unwanted habits more easily when made to see their own actions, as the cognitive dissonance becomes harder to ignore.

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Pressure mechanics like streaks may increase frustration, as missing a day creates cognitive dissonance between users' actions and how disciplined they feel.

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Reducing cognitive dissonance, e.g., by letting users opt out of guilt-inducing mechanics, could make your product feel more enjoyable to use.

As seen in:

Transit Showing travel options in a timeline

Research answers may become less reliable, as users exaggerate intended behaviour to avoid the cognitive dissonance of admitting it clashes with their self-image.

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Consultant to 100+ companies

Written by Peter Ramsey

Published: 24/08/2023

How to utilise this in your designs

When users open an app they've blocked, you could try opening the front camera, so watching themselves break their own rules creates cognitive dissonance.

Example from

One Sec

During onboarding, you could ask users to slide to confirm their commitment to a routine, so skipping it later creates cognitive dissonance with their own promise.

Example from

Evolve

You could let users opt out of streaks, so a broken streak doesn't create cognitive dissonance with how disciplined they believe they are.

Example from

Stoic

If users back out of a climate pledge, you could offer to remind them later, easing the dissonance of abandoning a cause without forcing a decision.

Example from

Klima

When users go to cancel, you could prompt them to 'sleep on it' with a sleep meditation, showing value that may conflict with their decision to leave.

Example from

Headspace

Possible impacts

You could reduce churn by creating an early moment of commitment, so quitting later creates cognitive dissonance with the promise users made to themselves.

As seen in:

Klima An anti-churn strategy

Users may use commitment features less, e.g., subscriptions, even if they'd benefit, because signing up triggers cognitive dissonance with how they see themselves.

As seen in:

Sunlitt Showing off their 3D modeling

One Sec Look at yourself, go on

It's possible users break unwanted habits more easily when made to see their own actions, as the cognitive dissonance becomes harder to ignore.

As seen in:

Pressure mechanics like streaks may increase frustration, as missing a day creates cognitive dissonance between users' actions and how disciplined they feel.

As seen in:

Reducing cognitive dissonance, e.g., by letting users opt out of guilt-inducing mechanics, could make your product feel more enjoyable to use.

As seen in:

Transit Showing travel options in a timeline

Research answers may become less reliable, as users exaggerate intended behaviour to avoid the cognitive dissonance of admitting it clashes with their self-image.

As seen in: