Reference Cards

Best if used for...

Basic familiarity with behavioral

economics concepts

Use this to...

Use these cards to develop a basic understanding of behavioral
economics concepts. These reference cards are by no means
a complete or comprehensive collection of all behavioral
economics concepts; they are a selection meant to provide
enough depth and coverage to help establish a foundation.

Terms on the reference cards are categorized into four

decision-making factors and four decision-making
shortcuts. Each category includes an index card that
provides an overview of the category and suggestions for
related design strategies.

© 2010 IIT Institute of Design

 Decision-Making Decision-Making
Factors Shortcuts

F1: Expectation S1: External Cues

• Anticipation of Rewards • Bandwagon Effect

• Impact Bias • Status Quo Bias

• Placebo Effect
S2: Compartments
• Surprise & Adaptation
• Business v. Social Norms

F2: Time • Choice Bracketing

• Attentional Collapse • Framing

• Decoupling • Identity

• Hyperbolic Discounting • Mental Accounting

• Impact Bias
S3: Mental Models
• Intertemporal Choice
• Diagnosis Bias
• Optimism Bias
• Information Avoidance
• Planning Fallacy
• Resolving Cognitive
Dissonance
F3: Loss

• Commitment S4: Quick Indicators

• Hedonic Framing • Ambiguity Effect
• Loss Aversion • Anchoring

• Availability
F4: Ownership
• Certainty Bias
• Actor-Observer Bias
• Clustering Illusion
• Endowment Effect
• Diagnosis Bias

• Representativeness

• Segregation Effect

© 2010 IIT Institute of Design

 Card Anatomy...
Category Index Card
Category Label

Category Description

Design Strategies

Overview of Related Concepts

front back

Concept Reference Card

Category Label Concept Name Concept Definition

User Modes
in which this
concept may
be at play

Example

front back Design strategies specific

© 2010 IIT Institute of Design to this concept