# Cognitive Tools

- [Overview](/cognitive-tools/overview.md)
- [UX Laws & Principles](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles.md)
- [Behaviour](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/behaviour.md): High-level rules for user adoption, motivation, and persuasion.
- [Aesthetic-Usability Effect](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/behaviour/aesthetic-usability-effect.md): Users perceive aesthetically pleasing designs as more usable and credible.
- [Campbell's Law](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/behaviour/campbells-law.md): The more any quantitative social indicator is used for decision-making, the more likely it will distort and corrupt the process.
- [Fresh Start Effect](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/behaviour/fresh-start-effect.md): People are more motivated to pursue goals when starting a new time period (e.g., a new week or month).
- [Goal-Gradient Effect](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/behaviour/goal-gradient-effect.md): A user's motivation to complete a task increases as they get closer to achieving the final goal.
- [Hook Model](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/behaviour/hook-model.md): A four-step process (Trigger, Action, Reward, Investment) for building user habits.
- [Jakob's Law](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/behaviour/jakobs-law.md): Users prefer your site to work the same way as all the other sites they already know.
- [Parkinson's Law](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/behaviour/parkinsons-law.md): Any task or project will expand to fill the time available for its completion.
- [Peak-End Rule](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/behaviour/peak-end-rule.md): People judge an experience primarily by how they felt at its peak and at its end.
- [Principle of Commitment and Consistency](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/behaviour/principle-of-commitment-and-consistency.md): Once people commit to a position, they are more likely to stick with it.
- [Rule of Three](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/behaviour/rule-of-three.md): Presenting information in groups of three is naturally more appealing and digestible to the human mind.
- [Scarcity Principle](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/behaviour/scarcity-principle.md): Items or opportunities that are rare or limited are perceived as more valuable.
- [Three Pillars of User Delight](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/behaviour/three-pillars-of-user-delight.md): A model for designing products that appeal to users' instincts (visceral), feel effective (behavioural), and create positive memories (reflective).
- [Concepts & Models](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/concepts-and-models.md): Foundational terminology, psychological frameworks, and design disciplines.
- [Choice Overload](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/concepts-and-models/choice-overload.md): The psychological state of being overwhelmed when presented with too many options.
- [Chunking](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/concepts-and-models/chunking.md): The process of grouping related information to aid working memory and reduce cognitive load.
- [Cognitive Bias](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/concepts-and-models/cognitive-bias.md): A systematic pattern of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment.
- [The Sunk Cost Fallacy](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/concepts-and-models/cognitive-bias/the-sunk-cost-fallacy.md)
- [Anchoring Bias](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/concepts-and-models/cognitive-bias/anchoring-principle.md): People tend to focus on a single, initial piece of information, which influences how they estimate value and make subsequent decisions.
- [Authority Bias](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/concepts-and-models/cognitive-bias/authority-principle.md): People are more likely to be persuaded by perceived experts or credible sources.
- [Cognitive Load](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/concepts-and-models/cognitive-load.md): The amount of mental effort required to use a system or understand information.
- [Flow](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/concepts-and-models/flow.md): A mental state of energised focus and enjoyment during an activity.
- [Mental Model](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/concepts-and-models/mental-model.md): A user's internal, compressed idea of how a system or product works.
- [Selective Attention](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/concepts-and-models/selective-attention.md): The brain's ability to focus on one piece of information while filtering out others.
- [Working Memory](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/concepts-and-models/working-memory.md): The cognitive system that temporarily holds and manipulates information needed for a task.
- [Foundations](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/foundations.md): Core rules for usability, system reliability, and error prevention/management.
- [Nielson's 10](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/foundations/nielsons-10.md): A set of 10 general rules for good user interface design
- [Poka-Yoke Principle](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/foundations/poka-yoke-principle.md): Designing a process to prevent or correct human errors before they occur
- [Postel's Law](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/foundations/postels-law.md): Be conservative in what you send and liberal in what you accept
- [Principle of Least Astonishment](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/foundations/principle-of-least-astonishment.md): A system's behaviour should be consistent and predictable to the user.
- [Tesler's Law](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/foundations/teslers-law.md): Every system has a degree of complexity that cannot be reduced, only managed.
- [Interaction](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction.md): Visual organisation, system responsiveness, and the physics of user movement.
- [Accot-Zhai Steering Law](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/accot-zhai-steering-law.md): Predicts the time it takes to navigate a constrained path like a curved menu or dropdown.
- [Doherty Threshold](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/doherty-threshold.md): Productivity soars when a computer responds to a user in 400 milliseconds or less.
- [Fitts's Law](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/fittss-law.md): The time required to hit a target is a function of the target's size and distance.
- [Hick's Law](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/hicks-law.md): The time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices.
- [Principle of Contrast](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/principle-of-contrast.md): Different visual elements should be clearly distinguishable from one another.
- [Principle of Readability](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/principle-of-readability.md): Text must be easily legible and understandable for the intended audience.
- [Principle of Repetition](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/principle-of-repetition.md): Consistency in design elements throughout an interface aids recognition and learning.
- [Principle of Scale](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/principle-of-scale.md): The size relationship between elements should communicate hierarchy and importance.
- [Rule of Thirds](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/rule-of-thirds.md): A compositional grid that suggests placing key elements along lines and intersections for visual balance.
- [Gestalt Principles](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/gestalt-principles.md): Rules describing how humans naturally group and organise visual elements to form a complete whole.
- [Closure](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/gestalt-principles/closure.md): The mind perceives incomplete shapes or figures as being complete.
- [Common Fate (Synchrony)](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/gestalt-principles/common-fate-synchrony.md): Elements moving in the same direction or synchrony are perceived as belonging together.
- [Common Region](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/gestalt-principles/common-region.md): Elements within the same clearly defined boundary are perceived as a group.
- [Connectedness](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/gestalt-principles/connectedness.md): Elements that are visually linked (e.g., by lines) are perceived as more related.
- [Continuation](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/gestalt-principles/continuation.md): The eye is led to smoothly follow lines, curves, and fluid paths.
- [Figure/Ground](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/gestalt-principles/figure-ground.md): The mind separates the dominant subject (figure) from the surrounding area (ground).
- [Focal Points](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/gestalt-principles/focal-points.md): Whatever stands out visually will capture and hold the user's attention first.
- [Parallelism](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/gestalt-principles/parallelism.md): Elements that are parallel to each other are perceived as being related.
- [Past Experiences](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/gestalt-principles/past-experiences.md): Visual elements are grouped together if they have been previously associated together.
- [Prägnanz](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/gestalt-principles/pragnanz.md): The mind tends to perceive and interpret ambiguous images in the simplest possible form.
- [Proximity](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/gestalt-principles/proximity.md): Objects that are close to one another are perceived as being related.
- [Similarity](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/gestalt-principles/similarity.md): Elements that look alike are perceived as belonging together.
- [Symmetry (And Order)](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/gestalt-principles/symmetry-and-order.md): Symmetrical elements are perceived as belonging together and are aesthetically pleasing.
- [Uniform Connectedness](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/interaction/gestalt-principles/uniform-connectedness.md): Elements connected by a line or uniform colour are perceived as a single group.
- [Psychology](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/psychology.md): Scientific findings on memory, perception, and cognitive biases.
- [Availability Heuristic](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/psychology/availability-heuristic.md): People overestimate the likelihood of events that are easily recalled from memory.
- [Halo Effect](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/psychology/halo-effect.md): A user's overall positive impression of one feature influences their rating of all other features.
- [Miller's Law](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/psychology/millers-law.md): The average person can only hold seven plus or minus two items in their working memory at once.
- [Paradox of the Active User](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/psychology/paradox-of-the-active-user.md): Users rarely read manuals, preferring to jump in and figure out software immediately.
- [Persuasive Design](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/psychology/persuasive-design.md)
- [Serial Position Effect](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/psychology/serial-position-effect.md): Users are most likely to remember items at the beginning and end of a list.
- [Von Restorff Effect](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/psychology/von-restorff-effect.md): An item that visually stands out from its neighbours is more likely to be remembered.
- [Yerkes-Dodson Law](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/psychology/yerkes-dodson-law.md)
- [Zeigarnik Effect](/cognitive-tools/ux-laws-principles/psychology/zeigarnik-effect.md): People remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed ones.
- [Universal](/cognitive-tools/universal.md)
- [Prioritisation](/cognitive-tools/universal/prioritisation.md)
- [6 Box Framework](/cognitive-tools/universal/prioritisation/6-box-framework.md)
- [Eisenhower Matrix](/cognitive-tools/universal/prioritisation/eisenhower-matrix.md): Prioritise tasks based on their urgency
- [The Pareto Principle](/cognitive-tools/universal/prioritisation/the-pareto-principle.md): Approximately 80% of the results come from 20% of the effort or features.
- [Reach, Impact, Confidence, and Effort (RICE)](/cognitive-tools/universal/prioritisation/reach-impact-confidence-and-effort-rice.md)
- [ICE Scoring](/cognitive-tools/universal/prioritisation/ice-scoring.md)
- [Pendo Framework](/cognitive-tools/universal/prioritisation/pendo-framework.md)
- [Prioritisation Matrix](/cognitive-tools/universal/prioritisation/prioritisation-matrix.md): Weighs potential value against implementation difficulty
- [The Kano Model](/cognitive-tools/universal/prioritisation/the-kano-model.md): Prioritises features based on customer satisfaction
- [Decision Matrix](/cognitive-tools/universal/prioritisation/decision-matrix.md)
- [MoSCoW Method](/cognitive-tools/universal/prioritisation/moscow.md)
- [Problem Solving](/cognitive-tools/universal/problem-solving.md)
- [5 Whys](/cognitive-tools/universal/problem-solving/5-whys.md)
- [Abstraction Laddering](/cognitive-tools/universal/problem-solving/abstraction-laddering.md)
- [Divergent & Convergent Thinking](/cognitive-tools/universal/problem-solving/divergent-and-convergent-thinking.md)
- [First Principles Thinking](/cognitive-tools/universal/problem-solving/first-principles-thinking.md): Getting to the root of the problem
- [Iceberg Model](/cognitive-tools/universal/problem-solving/iceberg-model.md)
- [Inversion Thinking](/cognitive-tools/universal/problem-solving/inversion-thinking.md): Reverse your thinking to move forward
- [Ishikawa Diagram](/cognitive-tools/universal/problem-solving/ishikawa-diagram.md): A key tool for root cause analysis
- [Issue Trees](/cognitive-tools/universal/problem-solving/issue-trees.md)
- [Occam's Razor](/cognitive-tools/universal/problem-solving/occams-razor.md): The simplest explanation or solution is often the correct one
- [Productive Thinking Model](/cognitive-tools/universal/problem-solving/productive-thinking-model.md)
- [Systems Thinking](/cognitive-tools/universal/problem-solving/systems-thinking.md): Seeing the Whole Picture: Navigating Complexity with Systems Thinking
- [Zwicky Box](/cognitive-tools/universal/problem-solving/zwicky-box.md)
- [Decision Making](/cognitive-tools/universal/decision-making.md)
- [Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA)](/cognitive-tools/universal/decision-making/cost-benefit-analysis-cba.md)
- [Ladder of Inference](/cognitive-tools/universal/decision-making/ladder-of-inference.md)
- [Law of Diminishing Returns](/cognitive-tools/universal/decision-making/law-of-diminishing-returns.md)
- [OODA Loop](/cognitive-tools/universal/decision-making/ooda-loop.md)
- [PESTLE Analysis](/cognitive-tools/universal/decision-making/pestle-analysis.md)
- [Pre-Mortem](/cognitive-tools/universal/decision-making/pre-mortem.md)
- [Second-order Thinking](/cognitive-tools/universal/decision-making/second-order-thinking.md): Putting a lens on the long-term consequences of decisions
- [Six Thinking Hats](/cognitive-tools/universal/decision-making/six-thinking-hats.md)
- [SWOT Analysis](/cognitive-tools/universal/decision-making/swot-analysis.md)
- [System 1 & System 2 Thinking](/cognitive-tools/universal/decision-making/system-1-and-system-2-thinking.md)
- [The Cynefin Framework](/cognitive-tools/universal/decision-making/the-cynefin-framework.md): A Leader’s Framework for Decision Making
- [The Hard Choice Model](/cognitive-tools/universal/decision-making/the-hard-choice-model.md)
- [The Map Is Not the Territory](/cognitive-tools/universal/decision-making/the-map-is-not-the-territory.md): Well-planned strategies are still only an approximation of reality
- [Leadership & People](/cognitive-tools/universal/managing-people.md)
- [4 Worker Types](/cognitive-tools/universal/managing-people/the-4-worker-types.md)
- [9 Employee Types](/cognitive-tools/universal/managing-people/the-9-employee-types.md)
- [Circle of Competence](/cognitive-tools/universal/managing-people/circle-of-competence.md)
- [Conflict Resolution Diagram](/cognitive-tools/universal/managing-people/conflict-resolution-diagram.md)
- [Delegation Poker](/cognitive-tools/universal/managing-people/delegation-poker.md)
- [Dunning-Kruger Effect](/cognitive-tools/universal/managing-people/dunning-kruger-effect.md)
- [Golem Effect](/cognitive-tools/universal/managing-people/golem-effect.md)
- [Hanlon's Razor](/cognitive-tools/universal/managing-people/hanlons-razor.md): Not everyone is out to get you
- [Johari Window](/cognitive-tools/universal/managing-people/johari-window.md)
- [Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs](/cognitive-tools/universal/managing-people/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs.md)
- [Minto Pyramid](/cognitive-tools/universal/managing-people/the-minto-pyramid.md)
- [Peter Principle](/cognitive-tools/universal/managing-people/the-peter-principle.md)
- [Pygmalion Effect](/cognitive-tools/universal/managing-people/pygmalion-effect.md)
- [Situation-Behaviour-Impact (SBI)](/cognitive-tools/universal/managing-people/situation-behaviour-impact-sbi.md)
- [Skill-Will Matrix](/cognitive-tools/universal/managing-people/skill-will-matrix.md)
- [Spiral Dynamics](/cognitive-tools/universal/managing-people/spiral-dynamics.md)