Anirudh PalaskarEdPlus at Arizona State University · UX Researcher

The Secret Psychology Behind Getting Customers to Finish the Task #uxdesign

Name: The Secret Psychology Behind Getting Customers to Finish the Task #uxdesign
Uploaded: 2023-06-27T15:30:06+00:00
Duration: 58 s
Channel: Anirudh Palaskar
Description: In this video, the presenter explains the goal‑gradient effect—a psychological principle stating that users exert increasing effort as they near task…

27 Jun 2023 · 1 min

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In this video, the presenter explains the goal‑gradient effect—a psychological principle stating that users exert increasing effort as they near task completion. He likens it to a runner who starts strong, slows mid‑race, then sprints toward the finish line. The effect is presented as a fundamental law of UX, influencing how designers structure experiences to keep users motivated. The speaker then shows how gamification exploits this effect by signaling “you’re almost there” and promising a reward upon completion, using Starbucks’ coffee‑purchase loyalty program as a concrete example. The overall message is that understanding and applying the goal‑gradient effect can improve customer experience and boost task‑completion rates.

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This is how human psychology is used to provide a better customer experience. The goal gradient effect, which is a law of UX, simply talks about the amount of effort that the consumer takes at the start of the task is totally different than the amount of effort they take towards the end of the task. It simply tells that the users will take a lot of effort while they are reaching closer to the task. You might have also seen this behavior while running in a race. For example, in the start of the race, you will give your 100%. In middle, you might get down because of the energy. But the moment you are about to reach to the end of the race, you'll push yourself harder as compared to what you were at the middle of the race. That is what Gold Grading Effect is all about, that the consumer will be more excited to close the task the moment he or she reaches or approaches towards the completion of that task. That is why you will always see this gamified behavior in multiple apps. One of the best examples of Gold Grading Effect is gamification, where you tell consumer that, you know what, you're almost there, and the moment you complete this task, you're gonna get some rewards in return. For example, Starbucks. Starbucks will always tell their consumer that after buying X amount of coffee, you will get X order reward from us.