People are human. Write for humans.
We like to think that people read carefully, weigh facts, and make rational decisions.
They don’t.
Most decisions are made quickly, with incomplete information, and under emotional pressure. Prospect Theory (introduced in Thinking Fast and Slow), explains how people actually decide when there is risk, effort, or uncertainty involved.
Rule 1: People fear losses more than they value gains
Losses hurt more than gains feel good, at a ratio of about 2:1. We go out of our way to avoid losing what we already have and we don’t mind missing a potential gain.
| Bad example (nothing to lose) | Good example (loss is clear) |
|---|---|
| Use the Translation Dashboard for easier translation management. | Avoid wasting hours finding content with outdated translation by using the Translation Dashboard. |
| Renew to get updates for another year. | Don’t let WordPress updates break your site. Renew to get critical updates ahead of WordPress releases. |
When possible, describe what the reader avoids losing, not just what they gain.
Rule 2: Uncertainty stops action
When people are unsure what will happen, they delay or do nothing.
| Bad example (many unknowns) | Good example (predictable results) |
|---|---|
| Enable Translate Everything | Enable Translate Everything - your total cost is $123; existing translations don’t change. Disable to return to manual translation management. |
| Buy Now | Buy Now - pay $99 today. Auto-renews every year; Cancel renewals anytime. |
Before asking for action, remove uncertainty and define the escape hatch.
Rule 3: Anchors set expectations. Choose them so you can overdeliver.
We have no way to evaluate things in absolute terms.
Is one second a lot of time? For trees in the forest, it feels like nothing. For CPUs, running at gigahertz, it feels like a lifetime.
Is $100 a lot of money? It is if you’re paying for a metro ride. It’s very cheap when you’re shopping for a house to buy.
We latch onto the first piece of information that we get and compare what comes next to it. Good anchors set the expectations that your actual offer will beat.
| Bad example (no anchor) | Good example (clear anchor) |
|---|---|
| [ Sign-up for $49/month ] | [ Sign-up for |
| Try our steak lunch for $99. | Chicken: $79 Steak: |
Rule 4: People rely on mental shortcuts
Understanding complex topics requires a lot of cognitive effort. We look for shortcuts.
Instead of describing all the details of a car, manufacturers work hard to associate their brands with what they want them to mean for us. For example:
- Mercedes → Quality, elegance, accuracy, prestige, expensive
- Porsche → Excitement, speed, expensive
- Toyota → Quality, efficiency, convenience, affordable
Instead of trying to explain a complex topic from scratch, look for the mental shortcuts that will allow your readers to understand it, in fewer words and with much less effort.
| Bad (all from scratch) | Good (uses known elements) |
|---|---|
| Our system performs continuous background synchronization between repositories, detects string-level changes, and automatically updates translation states. | Think of it like GitHub Actions for translations. |
| We offer translation quality that matches professional human translators while costing little and delivering translations quickly. | Human-quality translation at machine speed and cost. |
When using mental shortcuts through analogies or references (like “GitHub Actions”), consider whether your audience will actually understand the reference. If you’re writing for WordPress developers who’ve never used GitHub Actions, the shortcut becomes an obstacle. The reference should simplify, not require additional explanation.
In your practice assignment, you’ll apply these four behavioral psychology principles to improve actual content. You’ll explain the reasoning behind each edit, which will develop your ability to diagnose why content isn’t working and how to fix it.