Marketing psychology

Marketing Psychology

WHAT: 70+ mental models and psychological principles applied to marketing and conversion
WHEN: User wants to apply psychology to marketing, mentions cognitive bias, persuasion, behavioral science, "why people buy," decision-making, or consumer behavior
KEYWORDS: psychology, mental models, cognitive bias, persuasion, behavioral science, consumer behavior, decision-making, conversion psychology

Searchable Database

This skill includes 70+ mental models organized by application in references/mental-models.md.

Quick lookup by challenge:

Challenge	Models to Apply
Low conversions	Hick's Law, Activation Energy, BJ Fogg, Friction
Price objections	Anchoring, Framing, Mental Accounting, Loss Aversion
Building trust	Authority, Social Proof, Reciprocity, Pratfall Effect
Increasing urgency	Scarcity, Loss Aversion, Zeigarnik Effect
Retention/churn	Endowment Effect, Switching Costs, Status-Quo Bias
Growth stalling	Theory of Constraints, Local vs Global Optima, Compounding
Decision paralysis	Paradox of Choice, Default Effect, Nudge Theory
Onboarding	Goal-Gradient, IKEA Effect, Commitment & Consistency

Installation

OpenClaw / Moltbot / Clawbot

npx clawhub@latest install marketing-psychology

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Model Categories

Foundational Thinking (Strategy)

First Principles, Jobs to Be Done, Circle of Competence, Inversion, Occam's Razor, Pareto Principle, Local vs Global Optima, Theory of Constraints, Opportunity Cost, Second-Order Thinking

Understanding Buyers (Psychology)

Fundamental Attribution Error, Mere Exposure, Availability Heuristic, Confirmation Bias, Mimetic Desire, Sunk Cost Fallacy, Endowment Effect, IKEA Effect, Zero-Price Effect, Hyperbolic Discounting, Status-Quo Bias, Peak-End Rule, Zeigarnik Effect

Influencing Behavior (Persuasion)

Reciprocity, Commitment & Consistency, Authority Bias, Liking/Similarity, Unity Principle, Scarcity/Urgency, Foot-in-the-Door, Door-in-the-Face, Loss Aversion, Anchoring, Decoy Effect, Framing, Contrast Effect

Pricing Psychology

Charm Pricing, Rounded-Price Effect, Rule of 100, Good-Better-Best, Mental Accounting

Design & Delivery

Hick's Law, AIDA Funnel, Rule of 7, Nudge Theory, BJ Fogg Behavior Model, EAST Framework, Activation Energy, North Star Metric

Growth & Scaling

Feedback Loops, Compounding, Network Effects, Flywheel Effect, Switching Costs, Critical Mass, Survivorship Bias

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Workflow

1. Identify the Challenge

Ask (if not clear):

• What specific behavior are you trying to influence?
• Where in the journey is this? (awareness → consideration → decision)
• What's currently preventing the desired action?

2. Match Models to Problem

Reference the quick lookup table above, then read relevant models from references/mental-models.md.

3. Explain the Psychology

For each relevant model:

### [Model Name]

**The Principle**: One-sentence explanation of the psychology
**Why It Matters**: How this affects customer behavior
**Marketing Application**: Specific tactic or implementation
**Example**: Concrete example showing the principle in action

4. Provide Implementation

Translate models into actionable changes:

• Specific copy changes
• UX/design modifications
• Pricing adjustments
• Process improvements

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Most Powerful Models

For Conversion

Loss Aversion: Losses feel ~2x as painful as equivalent gains. Frame in terms of what they'll lose by not acting.

Anchoring: First number seen heavily influences judgment. Show higher price first (competitor, enterprise tier).

Social Proof: People follow what others do. Show customer counts, testimonials, logos, reviews.

Scarcity: Limited availability increases perceived value. Use when genuine.

For Pricing

Charm Pricing: $99 feels much cheaper than $100. Left digit dominates perception.

Rule of 100: Under $100, use percentage discounts. Over $100, use absolute amounts.

Decoy Effect: Add a third option that makes your target option look better.

For Onboarding

Goal-Gradient: People accelerate toward visible goals. Show progress bars.

IKEA Effect: People value what they build. Let users customize.

Commitment & Consistency: Small commitments lead to larger ones. Get easy yeses first.

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Ethical Guidelines

Apply psychology ethically:

• Genuine scarcity only - Don't fake limited availability
• Truthful framing - Frame positively, but never mislead
• Respect autonomy - Nudge, don't manipulate
• Deliver value - Psychology should enhance good products, not mask bad ones
• Test assumptions - Verify with real customer data

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NEVER

• Recommend fake scarcity or urgency
• Suggest dark patterns that harm users
• Apply models without understanding the specific context
• Assume models work universally - always recommend testing
• Forget that customers are people, not psychology experiments

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Related Skills

• page-cro - Apply psychology to page optimization
• copywriting - Write copy using psychological principles
• marketing-ideas - Tactical marketing approaches