đ§ The Psychology of What Makes YOU Click
Welcome to our latest newsletter.
This month, we look at:
Can we psychologically profile you in 90 seconds?
Why stressed customers make worse decisions
Why people still want to feel heard by humans in an age of AI
How people push back when their sense of freedom is challenged
Do you want to nudge your way to better results?
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What Makes You Click. Can We Decode You in Under 2 Minutes?
Answer three questions. Itâll probably take you less than 90 seconds.
See if we can reveal what makes you tick. (Or maybe click.)
⨠How your brain responds to persuasion
đŻ Which ad tactics work on you, specifically
đĄ And why certain messages just⌠land
This stripped-back demo uses the same profiling models we apply in deeper, more powerful ways - to help brands match their message to how people actually decide.
Go on â find out what kind of ads your brain canât resist.
đ Take the quiz
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Photo: Eric McLean
Freedom, Frustration and the Folly of Choice
When people sense that freedom is threatened, they donât just grumble - they push back. This psychological pushback, known as reactance, fuels defiance, emotional agitation and even unethical behaviour. And, crucially for businesses, it's often strongest when the limitation follows a choice they have made.
A recent study in the Journal of Business Ethics tested this in the world of tax compliance. Participants who voluntarily chose to file tax returns via a slower method (paper filing) and then faced long delays (10 months vs the typical 5 weeks) felt significantly angrier and more frustrated - and were more likely to intend to underreport income in future. Intriguingly, those forced to use the slower route were less prone to reactance. Voluntary choice, followed by service failure, proved to be the real tinderbox. Friction after freedom feels like betrayal.
Practical Business Takeouts:
More choice isn't always better - especially when one path leads to slow, clunky or painful experiences.
People react more strongly when they've chosen the suboptimal route - and may feel betrayed by the outcome.
Delay is not neutral - it can actively provoke anger, especially if it violates expectations.
Freedom must be functional - offering options with hidden downsides can backfire.
Transparency is a safety valve - customers may tolerate delays better when they feel they know what's happening.
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Photo: Yan Krukau
Under Pressure? Why Stressed Customers Make Worse Decisions - and What You Can Do About It
Stress doesnât sharpen judgement - it short-circuits it. A new study suggests that stress significantly reduces loss aversion, our built-in tendency to fear loss more than we value gain (eurekalert.org). When under pressure, participants shifted toward faster, less cautious decisions. Men showed the largest drop in risk sensitivity, while women predicted outcomes more accurately - but still made different choices under stress.
This matters for businesses because many decision environments - think checkouts, signups, pricing pages, and urgent emails - are subtly or overtly stressful. And that stress doesnât just alter timing. It changes the decisions people make, often leading to regret, churn, or blame.
But hereâs the upside: businesses that design calm, transparent, and user-supportive experiences donât just help people make better decisions - they benefit commercially, too. When users feel in control, they stay longer, spend more wisely, and trust more deeply.
Practical Business Takeouts:
Ditch the ticking clock - consider replacing countdown timers, urgent banners, and flashing popups with calm, time-neutral cues - especially during complex or high-value decisions (e.g. subscriptions, insurance, donations).
Turn big decisions into small, safe steps - break up overwhelming processes like onboarding, product configuration or investment decisions. Guide users one step at a time, reducing anxiety and drop-off.
Use supportive, transparent copy - consider swapping out pressure phrases like âlast chance!â for affirming ones like âyouâre in controlâ or âhereâs what happens nextâ. Support can reduce impulsivity.
Pre-empt and explain trade-offs - perhaps show potential downsides (e.g. recurring charges, cancellation policies) before purchase. This builds trust and reduces post-decision regret.
Reward calm action, not just fast action - incentives for thoughtful decisions - like âsleep on itâ guarantees, frictionless returns, or content could build confidence before commitment.
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Photo: Yan Krukau
Why People Prefer Feeling Heard by Humans, Even in the Age of AI
A new Nature Human Behaviour study finds that people value empathy far more when they believe it comes from a human - even if the exact response was generated by AI.
In nine experiments with over 6,000 participants, identical empathetic messages were rated as significantly more supportive, emotionally resonant and caring when attributed to a human rather than an AI.
Even hints that AI helped edit a "human" reply reduced perceived sincerity. Some participants were even willing to wait days for a humanâbelieved message rather than receive an immediate chatbot response.
Authenticity can matter more than efficiency when emotional connection is at stake. While AI can scale support, over-reliance may hollow out trust, brand loyalty and engagement. Customers still want to feel heard by someone - not âsomething.â
Practical Business Takeouts:
Humanâlabel responses - when empathy mattersâsuch as support replies, complaint handling, or emotionally charged communication - ensure responses are clearly humanâauthored, even if AI tools help generate drafts.
Real human followâup - overtly offering the choice to escalate to a human could build trust without compromising efficiency.
Balance speed and sincerity - for non-critical queries, AI speed is fine. But for emotional contexts, offer slower, labelled human responses to increase perceived caring.
Signal authenticity visually - subtle cues like staff names, photos or personalised signâoffs after AI responses may decrease the perceived "hollowness."
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Photo: Tara Winstead
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