Psychologyspeaking topic
The scarcity principle: why do we suddenly want something more when it's running out or labeled 'last chance'? How does the fear of missing out inflate desire?
— Robert Cialdini, scarcity principle
practice with this topic
Set the timer (5-30 min), take 20 seconds of prep if you like, start talking. Jot your thoughts onto the sticky-note board.
similar topics
- Basic level categories: why do we call the thing 'a dog' first, not 'an animal' or 'a golden retriever'? Does the mind have a favorite level of abstraction it naturally reaches for?
- Expertise and chunking: chess masters can glance at a board for one second and reproduce it, but not if the pieces are placed at random. Is expertise really just seeing in bigger chunks?
- Learned helplessness: after enough repeated failure, we stop trying. Why does a person quit struggling even when the exit door is standing open?
- Parasocial relationships, why watching someone talk to a camera for years can feel more like friendship than many real friendships.
- Informational and normative social influence: sometimes we conform to learn what's true, sometimes to avoid being left out. Which one feeds your own conformity?