Want To Understand People? Meet The Human Experience Cycle
Simplifying A Critical, Complex Human Process That Drives Loyalty
Why do some interactions spark loyalty, while others lead to frustration or disengagement? The answer lies in the ripple effect of human experiences. In this edition of Humanity at Scale, I explore the Human Experience Cycle—a simple yet powerful framework that explains how experiences shape perceptions, influence attitudes, and drive behaviors.
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The Human Experience Cycle
What if you could predict exactly how people respond to every interaction with your organization? Imagine a framework that not only explains human behavior but also gives you the tools to influence it. Sound good? Read on.
Every organization's success hinges on one critical factor: the behaviors of its key stakeholders—employees, customers, and partners. But influencing these behaviors isn’t as simple as delivering great experiences. In fact, the impact of an experience is less about the event itself and more about how people process it.
Experiences are filtered through individual expectations and perceptions, which ultimately shape attitudes and drive behaviors. This means the same experience can lead to vastly different outcomes depending on how it’s interpreted. For leaders, understanding and managing this processing—how experiences are judged and felt—is far more critical than simply aiming to create “good” experiences.
Enter the Human Experience Cycle (HxC)—a framework that defines how human beings respond to experiences, providing a simplified model for a deeply complex system.* By distilling human interactions into five core elements, the HxC provides a simplified, actionable roadmap for understanding how people process experiences, form judgments, and ultimately take action. For leaders, it’s more than just a framework—it’s a strategic lens for building deeper connections, fostering loyalty, and driving the behaviors that propel success.
Breaking Down The Human Experience Cycle
At its core, the HxC breaks down the process into five key elements: Experiences, Expectations, Perceptions, Attitudes, and Behaviors.
Experiences: Just a moment in the cycle
Experiences are the tangible moments of engagement between people and your organization. These moments encompass everything from seeing an ad on TV or navigating your website to interacting with employees or contacting customer support.
Expectations: What a person anticipates will happen
Expectations act as the mental yardstick against which actual experiences are measured. They are formed by past interactions, marketing messages, online reviews, and societal norms. If the actual experience aligns with or exceeds these expectations, people walk away satisfied or even delighted. If not, disappointment often follows—even if the experience itself wasn’t inherently poor.
Consider dining at a Michelin-star restaurant versus a casual diner. At the former, you expect impeccable service, exquisite dishes, and an elegant ambiance. Even a small misstep, like a lukewarm dish or inattentive service, can feel glaring. At the diner, however, expectations are lower—so fast, friendly service and a hearty plate of food can leave customers raving.
Perceptions: How a person evaluates an experience
Perceptions are automatic, subjective judgments formed during and after an experience, filtered through the lens of individual expectations. Perceptions exist across three key dimensions:
Success: Were they able to achieve their goal?
Effort: How easy or difficult was the process?
Emotion: How did the interaction make them feel?
For example, a customer resolving an issue with an online retailer may succeed in getting their refund (success) but find the process frustrating due to long hold times and multiple transfers (effort). If the representative they spoke with was empathetic and understanding, however, they may still walk away feeling valued (emotion).
Attitudes: How a person feels about something
Attitudes are the long-term feelings that people develop based on repeated perceptions over time. These attitudes become the lens through which people view your organization—whether it’s a trusted partner, an indifferent service provider, or a company to avoid at all costs.
For example. a loyal customer who consistently receives great service from an airline may develop a positive attitude of trust and reliability. Conversely, an employee who feels undervalued and overworked might develop a negative attitude, perceiving the company as a place that doesn’t care about its people.
Behaviors: What a person chooses to do
Behaviors are the observable actions people take, driven by their attitudes. Positive attitudes often lead to desirable behaviors like repeat purchases, referrals, and brand advocacy. Negative attitudes, however, can result in complaints, churn, or disengagement.
For example, a customer who has a positive feeling about a local coffee shop may become a regular, write glowing reviews, and recommend the shop to friends. In contrast, an employee who feels like the shop doesn’t treat employees well might call in sick frequently or quietly underperform.
How the Cycle Works
Here’s how the elements of the Human Experience Cycle connect:
Experiences combine with expectations to drive perceptions.
As perceptions accumulate, they shape long-term attitudes.
Attitudes drive future behaviors and they also adjust expectations, shaping the perceptions of future experiences.
Sparking New Leadership Thinking
Here are some actions leaders can take based on the Human Experience Cycle:
Start with the behaviors you want to see. Before thinking about any investments or priorities, ask your team: What do we want people to do as a result? Whether it’s repeat purchases, higher employee retention, or more referrals, start with those behaviors in mind. And be as clear as possible. For example, if you want customers to buy more products, identify a set of goals for different repurchase behaviors across key segments.
Focus on attitudes as leading indicators. Think of attitudes like the temperature gauge for your organization—they show how people feel about you over time and can predict what they'll do next. Keep a close eye on attitudes like trust, satisfaction, or loyalty because they often signal behaviors like repeat business or employee turnover. For example, if employee surveys reveal declining trust in leadership, address it before it turns into high attrition rates.
Define and track key attitude metrics. Pick attitude metrics that actually matter to your success by connecting to behaviors. Are you tracking customer loyalty with Net Promoter Score (NPS)? Measuring employee engagement? Make sure these metrics connect to the outcomes you care about. For instance, if your NPS doesn’t correlate with your behavior goals (e.g., repeat purchases), find a more indicative measurement.
Evaluate experiences across success, effort, and emotion. When assessing experiences, ask three simple questions: Did they get what they needed (success)? Was it easy (effort)? How did it make them feel (emotion)? Each dimension matters. For example, a customer might get their issue resolved (success) but feel frustrated by long wait times (effort) and indifferent service (emotion). Tackle those weak spots to create memorable, positive experiences.
Proactively manage expectations. Set clear, realistic expectations upfront—because mismatched expectations lead to disappointment, no matter how good the experience is. For instance, if a restaurant promises “fast service” but takes 45 minutes to deliver food, it’s bound to frustrate customers. Instead, communicate accurately, like letting diners know there’s a 45-minute wait, and they’ll appreciate the honesty. Transparency builds trust and goodwill.
Share the Human Experience Cycle with your team. Understanding HxC enables teams to connect the dots between individual interactions and the long-term behaviors of employees, customers, or partners. For instance, they’ll recognize how a frustrating customer experience—marked by high effort and negative emotions—can lead to poor perceptions and lost loyalty. By grasping how experiences shape perceptions, influence attitudes, and drive behaviors, your team can make smarter, more intentional decisions that prioritize what truly matters for your organization’s success.
*Note: I first introduced the Human Experience Cycle in 2019 in the XM Institute, and it has remained a valuable model for driving experience management best practices.
Humanity At Scale Leadership Challenge
In this section, I challenge leaders to do one activity that embraces and amplifies Humanity At Scale.
Your Challenge: Applying The Human Experience Cycle
After reading this article, bring your team together and watch this video that explains the Human Experience Cycle. After the video, facilitate a discussion around these three questions: 1) How can we apply this model to our work?, 2) What are some implications about the data and insights we use?, and 3) What are some specific outcomes with specific audiences that we can improve?
Tips:
Prepare in Advance: Watch the video beforehand and consider how it relates to your organization’s goals and challenges. Be ready to share your thoughts to spark the discussion.
Set the Tone: Start the session by framing the purpose—this is an opportunity to connect the Human Experience Cycle to meaningful change in your work.
Tie It to Your Organization: Guide the discussion toward how the Human Experience Cycle applies specifically to your organization’s audience, processes, and goals.
Reflection: Think about how you can embed insights about the Human Experience Cycle in your team’s ongoing work.
Additional Resources
Here’s some relevant content that you may find interesting:
The Human Experience Cycle (video): This animated video from XM Institute provides a simplified view of the cycle.
Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. This seminal work by Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman explores the dual systems of thought: the fast, intuitive System 1 and the slow, deliberative System 2. It provides insights into how these systems influence our judgments and decisions, aligning with the 'Perceptions' and 'Attitudes' components of the HxC.
The Power of Moments by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. This book examines how certain brief experiences can have a profound impact, shaping our perceptions and memories. It offers practical advice on creating meaningful moments, relevant to the 'Experiences' and 'Perceptions' stages of the HxC.
Humanity at Scale is a movement to inspire and empower leaders to create humanity-centric organizations