User Experience: Why Words (really) Matter in UX | Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight | Scoop.it

Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize winning author of “Thinking Fast and Slow” uses the terms “system 1” and “system 2” to describe how we process and understand information. System 1 is intuitive, non-thinking. System 2 kicks in when the brain must work on the problem.If I ask you what is 2+2, your system 1 brain immediately answers 4.

 

Now, if I ask you what is 2,531 + 9,518? without using a calculator, then your system 2 brain kicks in. You focus, and your cognitive load increases as your brain works towards the answer; 12,049.And it is the same for language.

 

If a Web visitor arrives at a Web page with a complex message, they must spend mental energy working to understand. And since people scan web pages and spend 15 seconds on average on each page, they will most likely churn....