Field note · JZ-007 · Perception ·
Should onboarding start at zero?
- The guess
Free stamps don't count: people only care how many steps are left.
- What the research found
At a car wash, some customers got a loyalty card that needed 8 stamps; others got one that needed 10, with 2 already stamped. The same eight washes to go. 34% of the head-start cards were completed, against 19% of the plain ones, and they were filled sooner too.
- Why
A goal that is already under way feels closer, so people keep going.
- What to do
- Count what people already did: account created, email confirmed, first project made: and show it as progress.
- Start progress bars and checklists with that progress visible, not at zero.
- Keep the number of remaining steps honest.
- What not to do
- Show an empty bar when people have already done part of the work.
- Add fake steps just to tick them off.
- Limits
- One field study, at one car wash, with one kind of card.
- The head start was two free stamps. In a product, count steps people really took.
- Status: the completion figures are being checked in the full paper; this skill ships when they are confirmed.
- Sources
Nunes, J. C. & Drèze, X. (2006). The Endowed Progress Effect: How Artificial Advancement Increases Effort. Journal of Consumer Research, 32(4), 504–512. doi.org/10.1086/500480
Also as markdown for your AI: softwarebehavior.com/notes/jz-007.md
Use with your AI · skill
This note is also a skill.
Install it once. Your AI applies this research when it designs, builds or reviews, and cites the source.
studio-jz-head-startv1.0.0 · in review
Your AI uses it when it designs onboarding flows, setup checklists, progress bars, profile completion, loyalty programs and any multi-step goal a user has to finish.
CC BY 4.0 · Ships when every figure is checked in the full paper · Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini and Cursor
Newsletter · monthly
One Field Note a month.
What changed in the book, the latest episodes, one framework in practice.
Opens a message to joost@studio-jz.nl in your email app. Send it to subscribe.