The Product Engagement Blueprint


Learn how to capture users’ attention and keep them engaged with psychological insights that drive engagement—a course delivered to your inbox.

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Start Today $19 One-time payment with Stripe

21 Cognitive Biases Explained from Theory to Practice

This email course will help you make better product decisions. You’ll drive engagement and create compelling user experiences by learning the underlying factors that influence your users’ decisions.

Each lesson is optimized for actionable insights with clear explanations, relevant examples, and practical takeaways for immediate implementation.

Learn from the best—we’ll dive deep into their strategies.

Apple
Airbnb
Google
Spotify
Amazon
Slack
MailChimp
Tinder
HubSpot
Instagram

Preview first lesson

Anchoring Effect

We rely heavily on the first piece of information introduced. It acts as an ‘anchor’ that influences our subsequent judgments and decision-making.

Imagine you’re out shopping for a gift. You find a pair of sunglasses that you know they’d love. But they cost $100—way more than your $60 budget. Right beside it, you see this necklace for $80 - still over your budget - but hey, it’s cheaper than the sunglasses. You buy the necklace instead, right?

The “Anchoring Effect” influences our thinking and behavior by:

  • making it difficult for us to consider other options or alternatives
  • limiting the range of information that we consider when making a decision

The reason why our brain uses this mental shortcut is to save time and cognitive effort. Rather than evaluating every piece of information we receive and considering all the possible options and alternatives, our brain uses the initial information as a starting point and focuses on the options and alternatives that are most relevant, or related, to the ‘anchor’. It helps us make decisions faster, but also leads to errors.

Examples

1. Amazon

Amazon shows a high starting price, called the “List Price”, causing customers to perceive the real price as an amazing deal. It doesn’t matter that the list price is outrageously high. It just matters that customers see it.

Amazon deals

2. Tinder

When the first photo is the best one from a series, the chances for a match on Tinder increase exponentially. It happens because the viewer’s judgement intensity drops with every other photo that follows the ‘anchor’. To take advantage of this effect, Tinder displays the photo gallery in a carousel format with full-width images. Additionally, it uses performance data to automatically change the order of the photos in the series.

Tinder slideshow

3. Twitter

Last month, Elon Musk announced a monthly subscription for Twitter Blue at $20. By starting with a high price, he aimed to generate buzz and set the ‘anchor’ for people’s perceptions. Soon after, he pitched a lowered price of $8. Let’s break it down:

  1. He creates the opportunity for buzz
  2. He sets the anchor high, people reject the price
  3. He makes space for them to contribute and give feedback
  4. He lowers the price by 60%
  5. People accept the new price as fair value because they have ownership in the ‘final’ decision—Musk uses another bias here called “Endowment Effect”

Elon Musk

Product experiences

  • A search engine that always shows the same results first anchors the user's decision and influence their choices. If the search engine consistently shows the most popular or relevant results first, leads users to believe that those are the best or only options, even if there are other relevant and useful results available.
  • Smartphones come with a set of default settings that are automatically applied when the product is first used. These default settings anchor the user's decision-making and behavior, making it difficult for them to consider alternative settings or configurations.
  • A fitness app that provides users with a default daily step goal anchors their behavior and influence their activity levels. If the default goal is too high or too low, it leads users to either over or underestimate their ability, and potentially leads to frustration or disappointment.
  • An online shopping platform that always shows the same product first, or that always recommends the most expensive option first, anchors the user's decision and influences their choices. Leads users to believe that the recommended option is the best or only option, even if there are cheaper and equally good alternatives available.

Takeaways

Start today and get the takeaways 👇

All lessons

  1. #01

    Anchoring Effect 6 min

    People rely too heavily on the first piece of information they receive when making decisions.

  2. #02

    Scarcity Bias 7 min

    People value things more highly when they are scarce or in limited supply.

  3. #03

    Framing Effect 6 min

    People make different decisions based on how information is presented to them.

  4. #04

    Halo Effect 6 min

    People have a positive impression of something based on a single positive characteristic.

  5. #05

    Social Proof Bias 7 min

    People do or believe something because they see others doing or believing it.

  6. #06

    Familiarity Bias 6 min

    People prefer things that are familiar to them.

  7. #07

    Authority Bias 8 min

    People believe and follow the advice of someone in a position of authority.

  8. #08

    Confirmation Bias 6 min

    People seek out information that confirms their preexisting beliefs.

  9. #09

    Sunk Cost Fallacy 8 min

    People continue investing in something because they have already invested a lot of time or money in it.

  10. #10

    Endowment Effect 8 min

    People value something more highly simply because they own it.

  11. #11

    Loss Aversion Bias 6 min

    People avoid taking risks in order to avoid potential losses.

  12. #12

    Projection Bias 7 min

    People project their own beliefs and attitudes onto others.

  13. #13

    Recency Bias 7 min

    People give more weight to recent events or information.

  14. #14

    Optimism bias 8 min

    People overestimate their chances of success and underestimate the likelihood of negative events.

  15. #15

    Groupthink 7 min

    People go along with the majority, even if they personally disagree.

  16. #16

    In-Group Favoritism 8 min

    People favor members of their own group over those in other groups.

  17. #17

    Curse of Knowledge 8 min

    Once people know something, they asume everyone else knows it, too.

  18. #18

    Automation Bias 6 min

    People trust the output of a computer or other automated system without fully understanding how it arrived at its conclusions.

  19. #19

    Google Effect 7 min

    People rely on search engines and other online sources for information, leading to a decline in personal knowledge.

  20. #20

    Belief Bias 8 min

    People judge the validity of an argument based on their preexisting beliefs, rather than considering the evidence objectively.

  21. #21

    Status Quo Bias 8 min

    People prefer to maintain the current state of affairs, even if a change could be beneficial.

Start Today $19 One-time payment with Stripe

What You’ll Get Out of It

Hit more home runs

  • Increase conversion rates and revenue

  • Decrease bounce and customer churn rates

  • Increase user attention and time spent on product

Get more I love this

  • Enhance user experience and usability

  • Increase task success and completion rates

  • Improve user feedback and Net Promoter Score

Level up yourself

  • Enhance your communication from all angles

  • Involve your team on a deeper level

  • Explain the reasoning behind your work with confidence

Author

Raz Tirboaca

I’m Raz Tirboaca, Barcelona–based designer moving things forward.

Since 2004, I’ve worked in both startups and large product-led companies. I’ve spent the first ten years of my career learning the hard skills. In the last eight, I’ve studied cognitive psychology to understand how people think and make decisions—learning the art of designing engaging products.

FAQ

Who is this course for?

This course is aimed at makers working on digital products, including founders, product managers and UX researchers, product and content designers, marketing and customer success managers, as well as developers who want to be involved in the design process from the start. A must-know for those who are ambitious and looking to take their skills to the next level.

What is this course about?

“The Product Engagement Blueprint” email course is a series of lessons delivered to your inbox that covers 21 cognitive biases in depth. The course will provide you with the knowledge and practical tips to create more engaging experiences and make better product decisions.

How long does the course take to complete?

Each week, on Wednesdays, you will receive a lesson via email, allowing you to digest the information and apply the learnings at your own pace. Over the course of four months, starting on the day of your purchase, you will receive a total of 21 emails packed with insights and practical takeaways. This structure allows you to progress through the course at a comfortable pace and fully absorb each lesson.

How do I pay for the course?

Payment for the email course is made using Stripe, a secure online payment processor. You can use a credit or debit card to make your payment.

Is there a money-back guarantee?

Yes, I offer a money-back guarantee. If you aren’t satisfied with the course, you can reply to any received email and ask for a full refund within the first 14 days of your purchase.

Can I access the 21 lessons on the web?

Yes, you’ll have access to all of the lessons both through your email and on the web. To help keep things organized, I recommend labeling the emails in your inbox with a tag of your choice.