Awaken automatisms

Cognitive Dissonance

Incompatible settings.

Hand-drawn pink brain with arms and legs, a worried wavy mouth and three question marks above it.

How it works

An unpleasant emotional state that arises when incompatible circumstances such as perceptions, intentions and opinions do not match.

When to use it

Use the effect if you want to encourage your customer to act spontaneously.

Online examples from practice

Tension in decision-making

Resolve possible tension states of your visitors in time.

  • Users experience a state of tension when they have to decide between shipping costs or a paid subscription, as in the example.
  • In the 2nd example, the first options that catch the eye are “Yes” or “Already in”. The option to decline is not immediately apparent, which can lead to a state of tension.
Amazon checkout overlay offering a free Prime trial with a product photo, benefits table, yellow order button and a 'Nein danke' button with shipping fee.
amazon.de
taz donation overlay with red headline 'Baum pflanzen, Haus bauen, Journalismus unterstützen', red 'Ja, ich will' button and 'Gerade nicht' close link.
taz.de

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