What do French fries, Kim Kardashians butt, and video games have in common?
Why do we love fries more than potatoes? Why do we feel weirdly drawn to filtered faces on Instagram? Why do some people get more excited about levelling up in a game than getting through their to-do list?
Let’s find out.
French Fries
Fries or chips - whatever to call them, they are salty, oily, crunchy on the outside, fluffy on the inside. They are delicious! A boiled potato just doesn’t stand a chance.
Kim Kardashian’s butt (and face)
Love her or hate her, you can’t deny her symmetrical features, smooth skin, and a hip-to-waist ratio that’s higher than average. All of the Kardashian sisters are beautiful by the Western pop standard of beauty, and attract attention partly (mostly?) because of this.
Video games
Many video games have bright colours, things that move, sound effects and haptics. They give clear goals and fast feedback. Games tap into our natural drive for achievement and progress. It’s no surprise we lose track of time.
So, what do these have in common?
They’re larger than life.
They’re deeply engaging.
And they’re engineered or intentionally amplified.
Fast food companies spend a huge amount of time and money to develop their perfectly delectable fry. They test sizes, shapes, oils and cooking methods to get the most irresistible product.
Kim Kardashian has made no secret of her plastic surgery. Her facial features have been expertly sculpted by surgeons to meet modern Western beauty standards.
The gaming industry has spent decades understanding what makes a game compelling. Their aim is to have people spend time, and often money, in the game. They optimise the game features for engagement and coming back to the game again and again.
These are all examples of supernormal stimuli — things that mimic natural cues but exaggerate them so much that we respond more intensely to the fake version than to the real thing.
What is a supernormal stimulus?
The concept comes from Niko Tinbergen, a Nobel-winning ethologist who studied animal behaviour. He discovered that animals would often respond more to an exaggerated version of a stimulus than to the real, evolved one.
Some examples:
Birds and big eggs: Some birds prefer to sit on oversized, colourful fake eggs because their instincts tell them “bigger and brighter must be better.”
Fish and red paint: Male sticklebacks will attack red-painted objects with more force than real fish — because the colour red is the signal, not the realism.
Frogs and deep voices: Female frogs are more attracted to males with deeper croaks. So if you artificially deepen the sound… they’re into it.
Butterflies and flashy flowers: Some invasive plants thrive because they reflect more UV light — tricking pollinators into thinking they’re extra delicious.
Humans and filtered faces: From high cheekbones to smoothed skin, beauty filters exaggerate features we’re already wired to notice — symmetry, contrast, colour.
So what?
If you’re designing a product, event, experience or campaign and you want people to pay attention — it helps to amplify what’s already naturally rewarding.
Understand the cues people are already wired to notice — things like progress, feedback, movement, colour, rhythm, social connection — and then turn up the volume just enough to make those elements more visible, more engaging, more compelling.
This is why things like gamification work. It builds on what’s already there - the joy of mastery, the satisfaction of making progress, the motivation of being socially accepted.
But this is also where the ethical line begins to blur. It is possible to push too far, going from attention and engagement to compulsion and addiction.
There are designers and companies that deliberately create supernormal stimuli, and they likely don’t have your best interests at heart. Slot machines, infinite scroll, and loot boxes are examples of supernormal stimuli that exploit the brain’s reward system. And it is probably not for your benefit or wellbeing. Rather it’s for the company’s engagement metrics or profit.
Conclusion
Now that you understand supernormal stimuli, you may start seeing them everywhere — in product design, advertising, social media, even your snack drawer. It’s a fascinating lens for understanding why certain things grab our attention or feel more compelling than they “should.”
It’s also useful. You can apply this insight to design more engaging experiences, products, and communications. By thoughtfully amplifying what’s already rewarding, you can create things that engage your audience better.
But like anything powerful, it comes with responsibility. Apply it with care, intention and forethought.
If you’re interested in more ways our brains are open to bias, check out my Design for Behaviour Change course.
If you want practical guidance for applying ethics to your next behavioural project, download the free Ethics Toolkit on the Resources page.
