Hick’s law captures the “paradox of choice” — the fact that decisions become harder as we add options, because deciding between a larger number of options is more difficult and time-consuming than choosing from a smaller set.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom in 1952, psychologist william edmund hick proposed a mathematical relationship between the number of options (or “stimuli”) and the decision (or “reaction”) time:

cognitive learning theory in the classroom

In one famous demonstration of hick’s law, shoppers browsing a market were presented with a booth that displayed different varieties of jam. When the booth displayed 6 varieties, 40% of shoppers stopped to look, and of those, 30% made a purchase.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom with 24 varieties, however, things changed significantly — 60% stopped to look, but of those, only 3% made a purchase. In other words, with one-fourth as many options to choose from, people were 6 times more likely to buy jam.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

The first screen does a poor job of directing the user’s focus. The two options (log in and sign up) are presented as equally likely and important; as a result, each distracts from the other, increasing the cognitive effort for the user.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom the second screen, on the other hand, allows the user to focus on just one option at a time. If the first option meets their needs, they’ll probably never notice the second option at all.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

An affordance is a perceived or actual property that determines what a thing can do, and how it is used. For example, a spoon has affordances for eating soup or cereal, stirring coffee, scooping sugar, etc.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom some objects and elements have only one real affordance, in that they are designed to do just one thing, while others (e.G., a swiss army knife) have affordances for many different actions and/or uses.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

If you’ve ever tried to pull open a door with a handle, only to discover that it actually needed a push, you’ll understand why affordances and signifiers are important in UX design.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom if your signifiers don’t match your elements’ actual affordances, users will be confused and frustrated. And if you leave out a key signifier — as in the case of a “flat” button or unformatted hyperlink — they might not realize that an element is meant to be used at all. #4.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom the “F” scanning pattern

As these images show, the vast majority of viewers scan the top of a page first, glance down the left-hand side (or right-hand side, in right-to-left languages), scan across again, and repeat.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom the “scan across” becomes more and more cursory as the eye moves down the page, such that many people never actually process the last few lines of text.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom

Interestingly, the F pattern becomes more pronounced when a page is poorly formatted; i.E., if the page presents a “wall of text” with no other elements to draw the viewer’s eye.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom this means that designers can also break users out of the pattern by using images, bullet points, headings, etc. To direct their attention. #5.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom system 1 & system 2 thinking

The principles above also emphasize the importance of considering the user’s expectations, and consciously directing their attention and perspective.Cognitive learning theory in the classroom for example — what affordances are they expecting, and how can we use signifiers to reinforce or re-align those expectations? Where on the page are they most likely to look for information?Cognitive learning theory in the classroom do we want them to navigate quickly and intuitively, using primarily system 1 thinking, or should we nudge them toward the more complex, focused problem-solving modes of system 2?Cognitive learning theory in the classroom questions like these can help us create designs that are consistently meaningful, relevant, and user-friendly.