---
id: "framework-six-hook-patterns"
type: "framework"
source_timestamps: ["00:01:53"]
tags: ["copywriting", "psychology", "scripting", "hooks"]
related: ["action-create-hook-generator", "concept-claude-skills"]
steps: ["Contrarian: State the opposite of a common belief.", "Curiosity Gap: Leave the answer without giving it.", "Pattern Interrupt: Use a sharp opener that breaks rhythm.", "Identity Callout: Speak directly to who the audience is.", "Stat Shock: Lead with a surprising number.", "Before / After: Contrast a transformation."]
sources: ["alex"]
sourceVaultSlug: "claude-skills-content-automation-2026May14"
originDay: 1
---
# Six Psychological Hook Patterns

## Purpose

A hardcoded menu of six proven hook patterns to embed inside a [[concept-claude-skills-d1]] (a *Hook Generator* skill). Forcing the model to categorize its outputs into these buckets eliminates blank-page anxiety and guarantees diversity.

## The six patterns

### 1. Contrarian
State the opposite of a common belief.
> *"Everyone tells you to post daily. That's exactly why your channel is dying."*

### 2. Curiosity Gap
Leave the answer unstated.
> *"The reason 99% of creators never break 1,000 subscribers has nothing to do with content."*

### 3. Pattern Interrupt
A sharp opener that breaks rhythm — short, jarring, unexpected.
> *"Stop. Close your editor. You're doing this wrong."*

### 4. Identity Callout
Speak directly to who the audience is.
> *"If you're a coach over 30 trying to scale on YouTube..."*

### 5. Stat Shock
Lead with a surprising number.
> *"73% of viewers leave in the first 4 seconds."*

### 6. Before / After
Contrast a transformation.
> *"Six months ago I had 200 subs. Today I crossed 100k. Here's the one shift..."*

## Why hardcode them

Asking an LLM to "be creative" yields regression-to-the-mean outputs. Constraining it to these six categories transforms hook writing from creative gamble into a **menu selection** from psychologically optimized options. This mirrors the structure-over-creativity principle behind [[framework-build-or-skip]].

## Implementation

The Hook Generator skill is referenced by [[action-create-hook-generator]] and demonstrates the [[framework-skill-anatomy]] in practice.

## Caveat (from enrichment)

These six patterns closely match widely cited headline/hook formulas in copywriting and YouTube growth literature. There's no controlled trial proving they outperform unconstrained LLM creativity, but the rationale is consistent with established practice. Performance gains are not rigorously quantified.


## Related across days
- [[action-create-hook-generator]]
- [[framework-skill-anatomy]]
- [[concept-claude-skills-d1]]