Goal-setting theory shows that people organize their behavior around outcomes, not interface tasks. Users do not care about completing your flow unless it gets them closer to the change they actually want.

pretty much

your brain hates blank space, so it fills it with the nearest sample: you

In 2002, Edwin Locke and Gary Latham published a summary of 35 years of research on how goals drive behavior.

think of it like designing a hotel room while standing in your own bedroom. everything feels obvious because you know where your socks are

annoyingly, no

asking helps, but the chapter is warning you about the gap between what feels true and what survives contact

This gap shows up in fitness apps where workout logging is smooth but people stop exercising. It also shows up in budgeting tools where transaction categorization…

yep. goals matter more than tasks is the trap door

then it shows up as the milkshake study showed this

In the 1990s, Clayton Christensen’s research team was hired to help a fast-food chain sell more milkshakes.

make the hidden assumption visible before the review starts

then test the behavior, not just whether the room nods

and if a choice only works for informed, patient, caffeinated people, treat that as a bug

that’s the series tbh

design psychology is mostly noticing the human nonsense before it ships

deal. hydrate first