To put people at ease or guide a decision find creative ways to show social activity. This can be in the form of stats (favorited by, number of views, comments), good positive reviews/testimonials, or by providing visibility into the actions or outcomes of other users’ behaviors.

• Facebook follower count.

Lowenstein, G. (1994). The psychology of curiosity: A review and reinterpretation. Psychological Bulletin, 116, 75-98.

What do you want people to focus on? Use colors, size, shapes and other design elements to create visual contrast. Subtle movements on an otherwise static page catch people’s attention. Contrast can also be felt over time (an irregular e-mail notification vs. a daily notification) or through unusual and unexpected content.

“Cost” may be monetary or an investment of time. Is your service priced accordingly? What items can you withhold until they are earned—perhaps a new feature or privileges? On pricing pages, offer a range of packages and highlight—or at least offer—a more expensive one than you think most customers would choose.

When—and what—can you hold back? Reveal just enough to arouse interest, then tease someone into taking the next step. You can also arouse interest by doing something unusual and unexpected—people will stick around long enough to determine what’s going on. Puzzles are similarly intriguing.

Whether to encourage positive behaviors or to reward someone for simply logging in, what can you give out at random intervals? Rewards can be praise, virtual goods, redeemable points and so on—but without a predictable pattern. When many people are gathered in a highly social context for a short period of time (such as a fundraiser), motivate people to contribute by rewarding randomly selected individuals within the larger group.

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Breaking down long lists (actions, content items, menu items, bullet points) into smaller groups makes that information easier to understand and recall. In terms of learned behaviors, we mentally “chunk” the details of routine events such as getting ready in the morning or playing guitar. Understanding the mental routines people develop—on your site or elsewhere—to respond to specific situations may reveal areas for improvement.