Overview

Designing digital products that truly engage users requires more than great visuals or smooth functionality—it demands a deep understanding of human behavior. This course provides a science-backed framework for leveraging psychology in product design to drive lasting behavior change and meaningful user engagement. Throughout the course, you’ll learn how to apply evidence-based methods to increase motivation, reduce friction, and build user trust. Each module blends actionable tools with real-world examples, enabling you to translate theory into practical design strategies that improve user experiences and outcomes. What sets this course apart is its unique combination of behavioral science and product design expertise. You’ll not only explore psychological models but also see how they can be implemented in product workflows, decision points, and user journeys. This course is designed for product designers, managers, UX researchers, and anyone involved in creating digital experiences. No prior psychology training is required, but familiarity with design or product development concepts will help maximize your learning. Copyright @ 2020 Amy Bucher. All rights reserved. Originally published by Rosenfeld Media, LLC. This course edition is published by Packt Publishing under license from Rosenfeld Media LLC. No part of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means @2014 electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise @ 2014 without prior written permission from the author or the publisher.

Syllabus

A Kind of Magic: Psychology and Design Belong Together

In this section, we link psychology and design to evaluate motivation, fulfill autonomy, competence and relatedness, and plan culturally sensitive, teachable-moment prompts for durable behavior change.

Pictures of Success: Measurement and Monitoring

In this section, we learn to set metrics, map behavior shifts, collect baselines, and plan evaluations using Randomized Controlled Trials or field comparisons to demonstrate impact and guide iteration.

It's My Life: Making Meaningful Choices

In this section, we explore ethical choice architecture that safeguards user autonomy, apply motivational interviewing to uncover motivations, and design transparent interfaces that disclose costs, trade-offs, and value-aligned options.

Weapon of Choice Make Decisions Easier

In this section, we uncover cognitive biases, quantify opportunity costs, and deploy option-pruning techniques to reduce analysis paralysis, constrain choices, and guide teams to faster, higher-quality decisions.

Something in the Way Diagnosing Ability Blockers

In this section, we detect ability blockers using the Behaviour Change Wheel, layer common-sense, informal and formal research, then organize findings in data grids to design accessible, barrier-free solutions.

Fix You Solving Ability Blockers

In this section, we pinpoint capability, opportunity and motivation blockers, score their impact, and craft ethical personalized interventions that boost user ability and adoption using a systems lens.

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger Designing For Growth

In this section, we map user growth with milestones and layered feedback, leverage social comparison metrics, then audit incentives to keep progress fair and prevent manipulation, ensuring long term engagement.

Come Together Design For Connection

In this section, we dissect social support roles across user journeys, design purposeful, honest interaction features, and evaluate online and real-world platforms for inclusive, resilient community connection.

Mr. Roboto Connecting With Technology

In this section, we explore anthropomorphized interfaces, hyper personalized preference models, and natural language processing based tone adaptive dialogs that together build user trust and deepen long term engagement.

A Matter of Trust Design Users Can Believe In

In this section, we design credibility cues, craft transparent consent processes, prioritize data privacy, and iterate via feedback loops to foster user trust, engagement, and long-term product success.

Someday Never Comes Design For The Future Self

In this section, we create goal frameworks tied to the future self and use contextual cues, incremental commitments, and small-win feedback to convert short-term actions into lasting behavior change.

Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now Go Forth and Engage

In this section, we apply evidence-based engagement tactics, build a personal competence engine for continuous learning, and analyze insights to embed research at the center of behavior-change product decisions.