Texting and driving is a strange behavior. We know it can be the first domino in a series of moments that lead to our death and risk the lives of others, yet we still do it, willingly and often. How incredibly irrational of us supposedly logical and intelligent humans.

Well, the truth is, we’re not as calculated in our decision-making as you’d probably like to believe. Dan Ariely, Professor of Psychology and Behavioral Economics at Duke University writes about texting and driving: “this behavior embodies the way we’re capable of doing things that can kill us without thinking about the long-term consequences.”

“Behavioural Economics (BE) is a field of study that seeks to understand how people make decisions by examining psychological, behavioural, emotional, and social factors.” By examining each of those factors, the irrationality of human decision-making becomes more clear. Our relationships with the products we use are incredibly impactful on how we choose to use them. This relationship can be affected by personal, design, and environmental elements. Every person brings different experiences, capabilities, and expectations when using a product.

Thus, mastering the affordances of your product is essential for creating a consistent customer experience for people across different experiences, capabilities, and expectations. According to the Interactive Design Foundation, affordance is an “action possibility in the relation between user and an object.” It is important to understand that these are not physical properties of the product, but rather how we interpret the physical properties in conjunction with our own capabilities, to determine how we can use the product. 

Understanding this relationship opens the door to what Behavioral Economics is all about. Designers do not have much control over the affordances of their products, but what they can control, are signifiers. “A ‘signifier’ is some sort of perceivable cue about the affordance.” Going back to the texting and driving example, I believe signifiers can partially explain the behavior. Text notifications are a ‘signifier’ for phone users when they should use their phones. Users respond to notifications when they receive them, and nothing differentiates this signifier from appropriate and inappropriate times of use, thus, texting and driving becomes a consistent behavior for many. 

Signifiers are one of many principles that make up behavioral economics. The Anchoring Effect is similar to signifiers but also highlights the ways that humans can act irrationally. Also used as a negotiation tactic, anchoring is defined as “a cognitive bias that describes the common human tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered (the “anchor”) when making decisions.” It is extremely important to be deliberate with what your customers see and understand first because they will rely on that information much more greatly than what follows. 

Humans act irrationally, however, through a deeper understanding of Behavioral Economics, the nature of irrational decision-making becomes more clear, and reveals what forces are influencing how users choose to engage with your product.