Have you ever visited a website and felt immediately at ease? You found the button you were looking for without thinking, the text was easy to digest, and the entire experience felt “smooth.” Conversely, have you ever landed on a page that made you feel instantly anxious, confused, or frustrated, causing you to close the tab within seconds?
This difference isn’t magic, and it isn’t just about artistic talent. It is deeply rooted in Cognitive Psychology.
At Formal Psychology, we understand that the digital world interacts directly with human cognitive limitations and biases. Great User Experience (UX) design is essentially applied psychology. It respects how our brains process information, make decisions, and perceive the world.
Here is the science behind why some websites “feel” better than others.
1. Minimizing Cognitive Load: The Brain’s Bandwidth
The most fundamental concept in UX psychology is Cognitive Load. Think of cognitive load as the amount of processing power your brain requires to complete a task.
The human brain is an energy-expensive organ. It constantly seeks to conserve energy by automating processes. When a website requires you to learn a new navigation system, decipher complex jargon, or search for a hidden “Contact Us” button, it increases your cognitive load.
- Intrinsic Load: The difficulty associated with the specific topic (e.g., reading a nuclear physics paper).
- Extraneous Load: The difficulty caused by the way information is presented (e.g., a cluttered layout or poor contrast).
Why it matters: Websites that “feel” good usually have low extraneous cognitive load. They don’t force the user to think about the interface; they allow the user to focus solely on their goal.
2. Jakob’s Law and Mental Models
Why is the logo almost always in the top left corner? Why is the shopping cart icon almost always in the top right?
This is explained by Jakob’s Law, coined by Jakob Nielsen. It states that users spend most of their time on other sites. This means that users prefer your site to work the same way as all the other sites they already know.
This relies on Mental Models—representations of reality that people construct to understand how things work. If a user visits an e-commerce site, their mental model predicts that clicking a “Cart” icon will show them their items. If a designer breaks this mental model (for the sake of “creativity”), the website feels “wrong” or broken to the user.
3. The Paradox of Choice (Hick’s Law)
It is a common misconception that offering users more options is better. Psychology tells us the opposite.
Hick’s Law describes the time it takes for a person to make a decision as a result of the possible choices he or she has. Simply put: The more choices you present, the longer it takes to choose.
If a website’s homepage offers 20 different navigation links, 5 promotional banners, and 3 distinct calls to action (CTAs), the user experiences “analysis paralysis.” Websites that feel intuitive often curate the experience, guiding the user toward one or two clear choices at a time. This reduces anxiety and speeds up decision-making.
4. Gestalt Principles: Making Sense of Chaos
The human eye sees the whole before it sees the individual parts. This is the foundation of Gestalt Psychology. UX designers use these principles to organize content so the brain can process it instantly.
- Proximity: Elements that are close together are perceived as related. A headline placed close to a paragraph is seen as the title of that text. If the spacing is off, the brain struggles to connect them.
- Similarity: Elements that look alike are perceived to have the same function. If all clickable buttons are blue, and suddenly there is a blue heading that isn’t clickable, the user feels a moment of cognitive friction (frustration).
- Common Region: Elements placed within the same box or background area are perceived as a group.
When a website utilizes Gestalt principles effectively, the user doesn’t have to read every word to understand the structure of the page; they can “scan” it and understand it instinctively.
5. The Aesthetic-Usability Effect
This is perhaps the most fascinating intersection of emotion and utility. The Aesthetic-Usability Effect describes a phenomenon where users perceive more aesthetically pleasing designs as easier to use than less aesthetically pleasing designs.
Even if two websites have the exact same functionality, users will be more tolerant of minor errors or loading times on the site that looks beautiful. Attractive design creates a positive emotional response in the brain, which actually improves cognitive abilities and makes the user more creative in solving navigation problems.
Conversely, an ugly site triggers a lack of trust. If the design looks outdated or “broken,” the user unconsciously assumes the information or the company behind it is also unreliable.
6. Von Restorff Effect (The Isolation Effect)
Why are “Sign Up” buttons often a bright, contrasting color like orange or green?
The Von Restorff Effect predicts that when multiple similar objects are present, the one that differs from the rest is most likely to be remembered.
Websites that feel “easy” usually leverage this to guide your eye. They don’t make everything important; they make one thing important per screen. By isolating the key action (using color, size, or whitespace), they reduce the effort the user needs to expend to figure out what to do next.
Conclusion: Empathy is the Ultimate UX Tool
A website that “feels” better is simply one that respects the user’s brain. It acknowledges that the user is likely tired, distracted, or in a hurry.
By applying psychological principles—reducing cognitive load, adhering to mental models, and utilizing the laws of perception—designers can create digital spaces that are not just functional, but psychologically ergonomic.
