Hooked

This audio-friendly summary explores Nir Eyal’s Hook Model—Trigger, Action, Variable Reward, and Investment—and how it explains the products people return to again and again. You’ll hear how habits form, why they’re so powerful for businesses, and how small design choices can make a product feel simple, satisfying, and meaningful.

Just as importantly, this summary holds space for the ethical questions that come with behavior design. It invites listeners to build products that genuinely help people—products that respect users, solve real problems, and create healthy routines rather than harmful dependence.

• Product builders, founders, and marketers who want to understand what drives repeat engagement and long-term customer value.
• Designers and teams looking for a clear, step-by-step framework to make products easier to use and more rewarding—without losing sight of ethics.
• Curious listeners who want to better understand how habits form in everyday life, especially around phones, social apps, and digital routines.

Nir Eyal is a writer and speaker who studied psychology and behavioral economics and is known for explaining how habits form around products and services. He shared early ideas through blogging and reader feedback, which helped him identify recurring patterns that became the Hook Model.