The 4 Types of Branding (and the one that YOU really need)
Geoffrey B.
Introduction
In UX, we are often told: "reduce friction", "get to the point", "remove steps". But what if, at times, it is actually the effort that adds value to the experience?
Welcome to the world of the Labor Effect. This cognitive bias, well known to behavioural psychologists, shows that the more invested a user is in a task, the more they value what they obtain.
In this article, we explain why and how this principle can transform your forms or your product journeys — provided it is orchestrated well.
1. What is the Labor Effect? (And why your users like it when they put in a bit of effort – yes, really)
At Dafolle, we love when a cognitive bias blurs the line between design and storytelling. And the Labor Effect is a perfect example: it tells you that a form, when it requires a bit of elbow grease, can become downright desirable.
The Labor Effect (or IKEA effect) refers to our tendency to assign more value to what we have contributed to creating. Even if the effort is modest, the sense of ownership increases with participation.
But in a more nuanced version, we also talk about Labor Illusion, a concept explored by researchers Kruger, Wirtz, Van Boven, and Altermatt. Their study shows that when a service makes the work it does for us visible, we judge it as more competent, more efficient — even if the result is the same.
If a system tells you “I am looking for the best options for you…”,
Even if it takes 3 seconds to provide a generic result,
You find it more credible than an instant search engine without feedback.
It is not just the effort put in by the user that creates value. It is also the impression that “someone” — or “something” — is working for them. And that, in UX, is behavioural magic.
2. Perceived effort = perceived value (or how to make your user believe that your interface is sweating for them)
When a user puts in effort to customize a product, share information, or answer questions, they become emotionally invested.
But what changes the game is that even a simulated effort from the system side can trigger the same perception of value:
