Start at the End: How to Build Products That Create Change

prospect theory: equivalent losses hurt worse than equivalent gains feel good. What that implies is that a reduction in inhibiting pressure will generally be more effective than the equivalent addition of a promoting pressure,

Brands are forced to continually spend resources on new content to make sure that the promoting pressures are relevant given changes in population and identity.

Inhibiting pressures tend to apply universally, which makes addressing them disproportionately efficient.

there are times when you will encounter a behavior that is seemingly intractable, with a long history of surviving despite prior interventions, and you might just need to employ competing behaviors.

This homogeneity also gives inhibiting pressures another special property: they tend to have longevity.

This is why being specific about population in your behavioral statement can be so powerful: not everyone needs to have the same behavioral outcome.

Another easy trick is to look at self-signaling and social-signaling.

One of the signs of stability is a deep engagement, often with references to a personal connection to the behavior.

If you want to find the stable, special, snowflake parts of a person, consider what they do when they’re alone.