Awaken automatisms

Mental Models

Familiarity ensures better understanding.

Hand-drawn Berlin-style pedestrian traffic light on a dark housing with a red standing figure above a green walking figure in a hat.

How it works

New things are accepted and understood more quickly when known mechanisms are used.

When to use it

Use the effect if you want to encourage your customers to take spontaneous and automatic action.

Avoid this

Avoid user frustration by preventing a discrepancy between the mental models and the UX of the website.

Online examples from practice

Use what you know

Use existing principles when explaining your product.

  • Use familiar elements to illustrate the function of your product or service
  • Use familiar patterns when designing your website
  • Follow „rules“ that make the interface intuitive to use
dm product availability indicator with a green check mark labelled Online verfuegbar and a red cross labelled Nicht verfuegbar in Deinem dm-Markt.
dm.de
Black outline icon of two rectangular buttons, BACK with a left arrow and NEXT with a right arrow, on a white background.

All 80 triggers as a printed card set

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