[RUX Corner ]

We are graduate and undergraduate students in the Research in User eXperience (RUX) Lab in the Department of Human Factors and Behavioral Neurobiology. RUX investigates the usability and user experience of technology in our everyday world. This is a regular column that explores different technologies typically used by Embry-Riddle students.

Dark Patterns: The Psychology of Mass Manipulation?

ARTICLE BY REID SANTIAGO / Correspondent

PHOTOS BY POLYGON AND REID SANTIAGO DESIGN BY DYLAN KOWLESSAR / Editor-in-Chief

Have you ever spent a concerning number of hours scrolling on social media? Have you ever spent more money than you meant to on in-app purchases or microtransactions in a video game? I am willing to bet that even if you haven’t experienced one of these occurrences specifically, you’ve had another experience with social or entertainment media that left you feeling uncomfortable. These are only a few examples of the ways that psychology principles have been used by the UX designers to manipulate consumers. In 2010, cognitive psychologist Harry Brignull coined a term to describe this phenomenon: Dark Patterns.

In his 2019 book, “Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World”, computer scientist Cal Newport says that the developers of platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook are in the business of designing features which prioritize user engagement at all costs. Each of these platforms contain familiar elements that drive our behavior. Like buttons have evolved from simple expressive interactions to a social currency with real power. Social media feeds have evolved from mere collections of content from followed creators to endlessly curating streams of data. Paid extras in video games have become an increasingly predatory market for compulsive buying. These elements use subtle psychological tactics to modify and influence the behavior of users.

Studies in digital addiction have been conducted for decades, but in the last ten years, studies have surfaced which focus on habit-building tactics in user experience. Cal Newport’s book was my first introduction to this topic, and in Dr. Shawn Doherty’s Human Factors in recently explored the on-campus banning of TikTok at the University of Florida. The class was charged with doing interviews with Riddle students to gauge their feelings on this ban and on social media apps in general.

Entertainment Systems course, I learned the term Dark Mechanics, another name for Dark Patterns.

For Dr. Doherty’s course, I annotated 14 studies that examined Dark Patterns in video games and the role of UX in addiction to games.

A study by Dr. Mark Griffiths and Dr. Filip Nuyens found that many Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) use operant conditioning in their activity structures. In psychology, operant conditioning is a type of learning that trains behavior through reward and punishment. In an MMORPG, that might look like requiring players to play regularly with a dedicated group of other players in order to progress efficiently. This system rewards players for committing to longer, more frequent sessions and punishes them for playing casually or alone. Griffiths and Nuyens call this form of habit-building user experience player entrapment.

Another example of Dark Patterns in games is in microtransactions and in-game purchases. One of the most widely known models for in-game purchases is the Loot Box A Loot Box is a virtual consumable that players can purchase and redeem to earn randomly determined rewards. These random rewards vary widely in value. Countless big industry games employ this model in some form: the Overwatch Loot Box, the Fortnite Supply Llama, and the Apex Legends Apex Pack, to name a few. In many cases, the only way to acquire desirable items is to gamble on redeeming however many Loot Boxes it takes to get the item. Loot Boxes have been scrutinized by the European Union and thirteen other nations as a form of digital gambling, which motivates compulsive behavior in players.

Though the sample size of each of these studies was too small to generalize the results, patterns in the cumulative results of the class were consistent with my research back in Dr. Doherty’s course. Interviewees reported feeling that they spent too much time mindlessly scrolling or repeatedly checking their apps. Increased screen time seems to catalyze negative emotions like guilt, frustration, and concern. Current research says that this trend occurs because social media interfaces are designed to train us using operant conditioning. Every time we’re rewarded with a like or new content that piques our interest, we’re conditioned to engage further. These rewards are usually spaced out just enough to maintain our interest and attention. TikTok is a strong example of this. Every participant in my group’s study reported engaging in undesirably long TikTok sessions due to the stimulating, short-form nature of the platform.

Human Factors specialists and researchers in UX are working to identify ways to mitigate the effects of Dark Patterns. Paying close attention to your digital habits may reveal the ways your everyday tools are impacting your behavior, and there are already tools out there to help.

Both iPhone and Android offer screen time diagnostics for the purpose of monitoring personal habits. Apps such as unGlue and AirDroid exist for the same purpose and even offer features which set limits on app usage. Dr. Harry Brignull, the UX specialist who created the term Dark Patterns, has called on Twitter users to share screenshots of examples they encounter, tagging the offending brand and using the hashtag #darkpattern.

Business practices in video games have grown increasingly manipulative, but Dark Patterns have existed in social media for far longer. Major publishers of social media apps tend to prioritize user engagement over brand integrity. Dr. Barbara Chaparro’s Human Factors in Systems Design course

If you want to learn more about Dark Patterns and ways you can avoid them, I strongly recommend looking into the works of Brignull, Newport, and other researchers who are working hard to expose them.

ARTICLES COMPILED BY ALISON SMALLING / ERAU Athletics Director of Sports Information

Freshman Mikaela Miles made Embry-Riddle Women’s Track & Field history on Saturday, becoming the rst student-athlete to be named an All-American in the triple jump.

Competing at the NCAA II Indoor Track & Field Championships, Miles nished 11th overall, four spots higher than where she was seeded, to earn second team All-America recognition. On her third attempt of the day, she posted a mark of 12.12m (39-9 ¼) which was both a personal and Embry-Riddle indoor record.

Miles joins teammate Ukeyvia Beckwith as the only two ERAU women to achieve NCAA II indoor All-America status.

For the rst time since the 2015 Bash at the Beach, the Embry-Riddle men’s golf team stood alone at the top of the leaderboard at the end of the nal round. e Eagles used a 286, tied for the tenth-lowest round in program history, to jump from twelve shots back in eighth to rst during round three to claim the 2023 Daytona Beach Spring Invitational, a tournament that included 17 NCAA I teams. It was the lowest round from any team in the tournament. Including rst and second round scores of 303 and 290, the Eagles needed just 879 strokes to play through 54 holes, tied for the seventh lowest three-round score in the history of the program. Play was held at LPGA International and hosted by Eastern Kentucky. e squads in front started to slide back until EmbryRiddle was in second, one stroke behind Longwood with a few holes le to play. A double bogey on the 17th from a Lancer put the Eagles ahead for good to claim the tournament title.

Embry-Riddle nished one stroke ahead of LoyolaChicago (294-297-289=880) and Longwood (296-292292=880). North Dakota State (292-299-290=881) and Long Island (293-288-302=883) rounded out a tightlypacked top ve.

Ryan Hart (69-68-70=207) of Florida was the top individual.

When the nal Eagle traversed the 18th hole, the Eagles were still three shots out of the lead in fourth, although all teams ahead were still playing. However, due to the tough nature of the course, ERAU’s de cit began to shrink.

Heinrich Adriaanse headlined the Embry-Riddle men’s track and eld performances at the Embry-Riddle Spikes Classic meet came to an end.

Adriaanse topped the podium in the decathlon winning the shot put (12.90m (42-4)), high jump (1.89m (6-2.25)) and discus (35.95m (117-11)) on the way to a point total of 6,378. In addition to winning the event, Adriaanse also hit the NCAA II provisional qualifying standard.

Adam Landen (21.72), Bradon Black (21.78) and Dedrick (22.09) all had career-best races in the 200m.