Laws of Behaviour

Mental models for product design

049Pattern

Tribalism

People enjoy feeling connected in tribes.

Why it matters

Although the days of people mostly living in small hunter-gatherer groups are behind us, humans still crave a connected experience with other people.

Of course, there are literal and obvious tribes (e.g., religion, gangs, families), but consider that people who identify, and bond, over a specific thing can create a pseudo-tribe.

For example, a group of people who all love World of Warcraft, could be considered a tribe.

Tribalism affects product design in many subtle ways, for instance:

• Sharing in-jokes and references. • All competing for a common goal. • A level of understanding about each other's motives.

A simple way to think about tribalism, is that any reference, joke, content or feature that makes the user feel really understood , can mimic the connectedness of a tribe .

Sharing & referrals:

• You're more likely to share something with a friend, if you believe that they'd be well-suited for the "tribe". • e.g., if your friend also likes dogs, you'd be more likely to share a dog meme with them.

What to inspect

  • Check whether the experience reflects this: Sharing in-jokes and references.
  • Check whether the experience reflects this: All competing for a common goal.
  • Check whether the experience reflects this: A level of understanding about each other's motives.
  • Check whether the experience reflects this: You're more likely to share something with a friend, if you believe that they'd be well-suited for the "tribe".

Common anti-patterns

  • Assuming users consciously notice every place where "People enjoy feeling connected in tribes" could apply.
  • Dense copy and parallel actions that increase mental effort unrelated to the user’s goal.
  • Ignoring downstream effects on sharing and referrals when shipping this pattern.

Critique prompts

  • Sharing in-jokes and references.
  • All competing for a common goal.
  • A level of understanding about each other's motives.
  • You're more likely to share something with a friend, if you believe that they'd be well-suited for the "tribe".
  • Where on this screen would "Tribalism" show up as friction or misunderstanding?
  • What would a first-time user misunderstand here in under five seconds?

Related laws