# marketing-psychology

> A Claude Code skill that applies psychological principles and mental models — anchoring, loss aversion, social proof, framing, scarcity — to specific marketing decisions, not abstract theory.

**Use case**: Apply behavioral science to specific marketing moves

**Canonical URL**: https://agentcookbooks.com/skills/marketing-psychology/

**Topics**: claude-code, skills, marketing, strategy

**Trigger phrases**: "marketing psychology", "cognitive bias", "persuasion", "anchoring", "why do people buy"

**Source**: [Corey Haines](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/tree/main/skills/marketing-psychology)

**License**: MIT

---

## What it does

`marketing-psychology` is a Claude Code skill from Corey Haines's [marketing-skills repo](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills). It turns Claude into a behavioral-science consultant who maps psychological principles — anchoring, loss aversion, social proof, framing, scarcity, the peak-end rule — onto specific marketing decisions you're making. The skill activates when you mention "marketing psychology", "cognitive bias", "persuasion", "anchoring", or "why do people buy".

The output of a session is a per-decision recommendation: which principle applies, how it's already in play (or absent) on your page/email/flow, the specific change to test, and the ethical line — the skill won't recommend dark-pattern tactics even when they'd convert.

## When to use it

Reach for it when:

- You have a pricing page, paywall, or hero you want pressure-tested for psychological levers
- You're choosing between two design options and want a non-vibes argument
- You want to understand *why* a winning test won, so you can apply the pattern elsewhere

When *not* to reach for it:

- You're looking for permission to use dark patterns; the skill won't supply it
- You haven't shipped anything yet — psychology amplifies clarity, doesn't generate it

## Install

The skill is distributed via Corey Haines's [marketing-skills repo](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills). Install via the repo's recommended path — copy the [`marketing-psychology` SKILL.md](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/tree/main/skills/marketing-psychology) into your project's `.claude/skills/marketing-psychology/` directory, or use the repo's plugin install if you've set it up.

Once installed, the skill activates on the trigger phrases above. The first time it runs, it will check for `.agents/product-marketing-context.md` (or `.claude/product-marketing-context.md`) — populating that file with your product context first dramatically improves output quality across all of Haines's marketing skills.

## What a session looks like

A typical session has three phases:

1. **Decision framing.** What's the actual choice? Pricing display, CTA copy, social-proof placement, scarcity messaging? The skill resists "general psychology advice" without a target.
2. **Principle mapping.** Which 2–3 principles apply, why, and how a competitor or category leader is using each one already.
3. **Test recommendation.** Specific change to make, hypothesis form, the pattern that emerges if it works (so you can apply it to adjacent decisions).

The discipline that makes it work: principle to specific change. "Use loss aversion" is empty advice. "Reframe the upgrade screen from 'unlock X' to 'don't lose X you've already started using'" is a test you can run.

## Receipts

Honest reporting on what `marketing-psychology` produces and where it has limits:

**Where it works well:**
- The principle-to-test translation is exactly the right level of abstraction
- The ethics line keeps the skill in territory you can defend in public
- "How a category leader uses this principle" examples make abstract levers concrete

**Where it backfires:**
- Some principles are fashionable rather than well-replicated; the skill leans toward the well-tested ones but no science is bulletproof
- Without testing, you can't tell which principle won — the skill recommends, your A/B program validates

**Pattern that works:** pair with `ab-test-setup`. The psychology session generates hypotheses; the test infrastructure tells you which ones are real.

## Source and attribution

Originally written by [Corey Haines](https://corey.co). The canonical SKILL.md and any supporting files live in the [`marketing-psychology` folder](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills/tree/main/skills/marketing-psychology) of his [marketing-skills repository](https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills).

License: MIT. You can install, adapt, and redistribute the skill, with attribution preserved.

This page documents the skill from a practitioner's perspective. For the formal spec and any updates, defer to the source repo.