The Psychology of Disney Design & Storytelling
with Dr. Troy Hiduke Campbell
Psychology Researcher, former Walt Disney Imagineer, and On Your Feet Chief Scientist
“I love that the same principles that make Disney amazing can be used by everyone in their work, life, and art — and that psychological science can help us all, even the best designers at Disney, use those principles better.”
Types of Happiness - And the Overlooked Importance of Feeling “Carefree”
The Principle: This design for happiness approach prioritizes multiple positive emotions to build a more wholistic experience.
The Science: Positive emotions can come from many sources, including meaningfulness, stimulation, and feeling carefree — and the best experiences combine positive emotions that come from multiple sources.
Learn More: Podcast
Portals - How to Better Begin Everything
The Principle: Portals are a model for beginning an experience in a way that transitions the audience.
The Science: The mind needs time and guidance to transition, and a good transition creates three distinct things scientists respectively call “anticipated utility,” “mindset shift,” and “narrative transportation” that each require slightly different cues to fully facilitate.
The Destiny Narrative - How to tell a Powerful Story
The Principle: The Destiny Narrative is a story in which a character changes into more of who they already are. It is the foundation of many of the most popular mythical stories, movies, marketing campaigns, and change management initiatives.
The Science: This Destiny Narrative is so powerful because it resolves the tension the human motives to positively change and authentically stay the same — two motives that are usually in conflict.
The Big Identity Net - How To Make People Feel Like They Belong
The Principle: Big Identity Net is an identity definition that is big enough that many people can feel a part of it.
The Science: People tend to choose items and engage in behaviors that they feel are consistent with their sense of self. Instead of asking, “Is this good or cool or right or best?” people often just ask themselves the question, “Is this me?” Big Identity Nets appeal to the centrality of social identity in decision making.
Managing Solution Aversion
The Principle: Solution aversion is the tendency for people to deny the value of going to even the most enjoyable experiences (e.g., Disney rides) or solving even the most important problems, if they feel the path or solution to them is highly aversive (e.g., long lines).
The Science: Dr. Troy Campbell first published on Solution Aversion in 2014. Today the finding has now become a core concept in the field of psychology, frequently cited in the New York Times and NPR by famous psychologists such as Dr. Jonathan Haidt and Dr. Adam Grant.
Learn More: How Disney Manages Solution Aversion (Article) | Adam Grant on Solution Aversion (Podcast) | Troy’s Original Research on Solution Aversion (Science) |
Scientific Mind, Artistic Heart - Troy’s Design Philosophy
The Principle: The scientific mind, artistic heart approach combines two overlapping but distinctly different approaches.
The Science: This perspective is, in part, inspired by mindset theory that states that humans have different mental modes that cannot be activated simultaneously. The scientific mind, artistic heart approach encourages one to oscillate between these two different modes as a way to use different parts of one’s brain.
Dr. Troy Hiduke Campbell is an influential psychological science researcher, former Walt Disney Imagineer, Duke University PhD, and Oregon business professor.
At his “scientific mind, artistic heart” project Hiduke House, he writes about many different ideas in science, business, society, tech, and art.
At On Your Feet, he serves as chief scientist and leads ideation workshops and skills trainings, including storytelling and the The Science of Now . . . series.
