What it is
People struggle to prioritize long-term benefits over immediate rewards.
How it shows up in CX
Customers find it hard to delay gratification, preferring instant rewards even when patience would be more beneficial.
CX pillars it strengthens
ExpectationsEffortEmotions
How to design with it
1
Make waiting rewarding.
2
Use progress tracking and milestones.
3
Reduce delay friction.
4
Minimize the perceived pain of waiting.
5
Balance immediacy and long-term benefits.
6
Offer incentives for both short- and long-term choices.
Supporting biases
Self-Control BiasPatience Bias
Opposing biases
Instant GratificationTemporal Discounting
Related biases
Behavioral Biases
Design with behavior, not against it.
Explore more biases, or work with us to apply behavioral science to your customer experience.