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Paper Number
1133
Paper Type
short
Description
With increasing competition in the online market, companies frequently apply “dark patterns” to steer user behavior in ways that benefit the company but may harm the user. To date, consequences of dark patterns use are rather unknown. Prior research demonstrated positive effects (e.g., an increase in acceptance rates) and negative effects (e.g., negative emotions) of dark patterns use. To explain these contradictory effects, we draw in information manipulation theory. In a survey experiment we confronted participants with the dark patterns scarcity and sneaking. The results indicate that exposure to dark patterns increases perceived violations of communication maxims, which increase perceived user manipulation. This, in turn, reduces attitude toward the website and website design. Further, the results show that perceived user manipulation is significantly higher for users with low familiarity with online shopping. We plan to validate the findings in a field experiment to be conducted in the near future.
Recommended Citation
Witte, Janis; Kenning, Peter; and Brock, Christian, "Consequences of User Manipulation through Dark Patterns" (2023). ICIS 2023 Proceedings. 5.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2023/hti/hti/5
Consequences of User Manipulation through Dark Patterns
With increasing competition in the online market, companies frequently apply “dark patterns” to steer user behavior in ways that benefit the company but may harm the user. To date, consequences of dark patterns use are rather unknown. Prior research demonstrated positive effects (e.g., an increase in acceptance rates) and negative effects (e.g., negative emotions) of dark patterns use. To explain these contradictory effects, we draw in information manipulation theory. In a survey experiment we confronted participants with the dark patterns scarcity and sneaking. The results indicate that exposure to dark patterns increases perceived violations of communication maxims, which increase perceived user manipulation. This, in turn, reduces attitude toward the website and website design. Further, the results show that perceived user manipulation is significantly higher for users with low familiarity with online shopping. We plan to validate the findings in a field experiment to be conducted in the near future.
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Comments
09-HCI