Cognitive Scaffold

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MENTAL MODEL · M0194

Hick's Law

Hick's Law
BehaviorHigh supportPsychology
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

The time it takes for a person to make a decision is proportional to the logarithm of the number of choices he or she faces. The more options, the slower the decision.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Optimize design and decision-making. Whether designing a product interface or reporting to your boss, you should proactively reduce the number of options through categorization or deletion to lower the other party's cognitive load and speed up the decision-making process.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Hick's Law (Hick-Hyman law): The reaction time required for a person to make a choice increases logarithmically with the number of alternatives, i.e., T = a + b·log₂(n+1). The more options, the slower the decision.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

  • link
    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hick's_lawZH · Explicit
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