Product Theory

Product Theory: The Complete Table of Contents

Every chapter in Product Theory — the mental models behind how users price, choose, stay, and churn. Read the free essays or get the book.

Spencer Shulem

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The complete chapter list for Product Theory: The Hidden Forces That Shape User Behavior — 37 short chapters on why users behave the way they do.

Want all of it? 13 of these chapters are published free as essays below — the rest are in the book. If you want the whole argument in order, with the research, the applications, and the limits of each principle, buy Product Theory on Kindle →

Each chapter opens with a story, then the application, the research behind it, and finally the limits — because no principle is universal. Linked chapters are free to read here.

Part 1 — Pricing & Value

Part 2 — Retention & Inertia

  • The Sunk Cost Fallacy
  • The Endowment Effect — in the book
  • Status Quo Bias — in the book
  • The IKEA Effect
  • Commitment & Consistency — in the book
  • Hedonic Adaptation — in the book
  • Reciprocity — in the book
  • Attachment Theory for Products — in the book
  • Emotional Loss Aversion — in the book
  • Hedonic Stockholm Syndrome

Part 3 — Choice & Decision

  • The Paradox of Choice — in the book
  • Loss Aversion — in the book
  • The Mere Exposure Effect — in the book
  • Social Proof — in the book
  • The Shrinking Set — in the book
  • The Laws of Attraction — in the book

Part 4 — Perception & Positioning

  • Positioning — in the book
  • Jobs To Be Done
  • Veblen Goods — in the book
  • The Peak-End Rule — in the book
  • The Pratfall Effect — in the book
  • Broken Windows — in the book
  • Affordances — in the book
  • The MAYA Principle — in the book
  • Lenses — in the book

Part 5 — Metrics & Systems

Get the book

Product Theory collects all 37 chapters in the order they were meant to be read — the mental models that separate products that win from the ones that don't, drawn from psychology, behavioral economics, design, and building products used by millions. Buy it on Kindle →

Its companion, Words, collects the short wisdom stories that show up throughout this blog.

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