Skip to main content

When Persuasive Technology Gets Dark?

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
Information Systems (EMCIS 2020)

Abstract

Influencing systems and persuasive technology (PT) should give their users a positive experience. While that sounds attractive and many rush implementing novel ideas things such as gamification, a serious professional and scientifically rich discussion is needed to portray a holistic picture on technology influence. Relatively little research has been aimed at exploring the negative aspects, outcomes, and side effects of PT. Therefore this research aims at addressing this gap by reviewing the existing knowledge on dark patterns, demonstrating how intended Pt designs can be critically examined, introducing the Visibility-Darkness matrix to categorize and locate dark patterns, and proposing a Framework for Evaluating the Darkness of Persuasive Technology (FEDPT). The framework is instrumental for designers and developers of influential technology, as it clarifies an area where their products and services can have a negative impact on well-being, in other words, can become harmful to the users.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Aftonbladet: Barnens ipad spel kostade 50 000 kr (2011). www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article12846738.ab. Accessed 7 Feb 2018

  2. Alexander, C.: A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. Oxford University Press, Oxford (1977)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Alha, K., Koskinen, E., Paavilainen, J., Hamari, J., Kinnunen, J.: Free-to-play games: professionals’ perspectives. In: Proceedings of Nordic Digra 2014 (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  4. Andrade, F.R.H., Mizoguchi, R., Isotani, S.: The bright and dark sides of gamification. In: Micarelli, A., Stamper, J., Panourgia, K. (eds.) ITS 2016. LNCS, vol. 9684, pp. 176–186. Springer, Cham (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39583-8_17

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  5. Atkinson, B.M.C.: Captology: a critical review. In: IJsselsteijn, W.A., de Kort, Y.A.W., Midden, C., Eggen, B., van den Hoven, E. (eds.) PERSUASIVE 2006. LNCS, vol. 3962, pp. 171–182. Springer, Heidelberg (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/11755494_25

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  6. Berdichevsky, D., Neuenschwander, E.: Toward an ethics of persuasive technology. Commun. ACM 42(5), 51–58 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Bessi, A., et al.: Users polarization on Facebook and Youtube. PloS One 11(8), e0159641 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Björk, S., Holopainen, J.: Patterns in Game Design. Charles River Media Inc., Rockland (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Bogost, I.: Blog: Cow clicker - the making of obsession (2018). bogost.com/blog/cowclicker1/. Accessed 10 Feb 2018

  10. Borchers, J.O.: A pattern approach to interaction design. AI Soc. 15(4), 359–376 (2001)

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  11. Brignull, H.: Darkpatterns.org (2018). darkpatterns.org. Accessed 9 Apr 2018

  12. Callan, R.C., Bauer, K.N., Landers, R.N.: How to avoid the dark side of gamification: ten business scenarios and their unintended consequences. In: Reiners, T., Wood, L.C. (eds.) Gamification in Education and Business, pp. 553–568. Springer, Cham (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10208-5_28

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  13. Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R., Nacke, L.: From game design elements to gamefulness: Defining “gamification”. In: MindTrek 2011, pp. 9–15. ACM, New York (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  14. DeVito, M.A.: From editors to algorithms. Digit. J. 5(6), 753–773 (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  15. Eisenhardt, K.M.: Building theories from case study research. Acad. Manage. Rev. 14(4), 532–550 (1989)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Etkin, J.: The hidden cost of personal quantification. J. Cons. Res. 42(6), 967–984 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Fishbach, A., Choi, J.: When thinking about goals undermines goal pursuit. Organ. Behav. Hum. Decis. Process. 118(2), 99–107 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Fogg, B.: Persuasive computers: perspectives and research directions. In: CHI 1998, pp. 225–232. ACM Press/Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., New York (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Fogg, B.: Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change what We Think and Do. Morgan Kaufmann, Burlington (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Gamasutra: Zynga: the future, or just a bit of it? (2010). www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidHayward/20100315/4670/Zynga_The_Future_Or_Just_A_Bit_Of_It.php. Accessed 12 Feb 2018

  21. Gamma, E., Helm, R., Johnson, R., Vlissides, J.: Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software. Addison-Wesley, Boston (1995)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Gram-Hansen, S.B.: Persuasive everyware-possibilities and limitations. In: 14th World Multi-Conference on Systemics, Cybernetics and Informatics: WMSCI 2010, pp. 254–260. International Institute of Informatics and Systemics (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Gray, C.M., Kou, Y., Battles, B., Hoggatt, J., Toombs, A.L.: The dark (patterns) side of UX design. In: CHI 2018, pp. 534:1–534:14. ACM, New York (2018)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Guerini, M., Pianesi, F., Stock, O.: Is it morally acceptable for a system to lie to persuade me? In: Artificial Intelligence and Ethics: Papers from the 2015 AAAI Workshop, vol. WS-15-02, pp. 53–60 (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  25. Ham, J., Spahn, A.: Shall i show you some other shirts too? The psychology and ethics of persuasive robots. In: Trappl, R. (ed.) A Construction Manual for Robots’ Ethical Systems. CT, pp. 63–81. Springer, Cham (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-21548-8_4

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  26. Hamari, J., Koivisto, J., Pakkanen, T.: Do persuasive technologies persuade? - A review of empirical studies. In: Spagnolli, A., Chittaro, L., Gamberini, L. (eds.) PERSUASIVE 2014. LNCS, vol. 8462, pp. 118–136. Springer, Cham (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-07127-5_11

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  27. Huotari, K., Hamari, J.: Defining gamification: a service marketing perspective. In: MindTrek 2012, pp. 17–22. ACM, New York (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  28. Hyrynsalmi, S., Smed, J., Kimppa, K.K.: The dark side of gamification: how we should stop worrying and study also the negative impacts of bringing game design elements to everywhere. In: Proceedings of the 1st International GamiFIN Conference, pp. 96–104. CEUR Workshop Proceedings (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  29. Kaptein, M., Eckles, D.: Selecting effective means to any end: futures and ethics of persuasion profiling. In: Ploug, T., Hasle, P., Oinas-Kukkonen, H. (eds.) PERSUASIVE 2010. LNCS, vol. 6137, pp. 82–93. Springer, Heidelberg (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-13226-1_10

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  30. Kim, T.W., Werbach, K.: More than just a game: ethical issues in gamification. Ethics Inf. Technol. 18(2), 157–173 (2016)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Kuonanoja, L., Oinas-Kukkonen, H.: Recognizing and mitigating the negative effects of information technology use: a systematic review of persuasive characteristics in information systems. In: Müller, S.D., Nielsen, J.A. (eds.) SCIS 2018. LNBIP, vol. 326, pp. 14–25. Springer, Cham (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96367-9_2

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  32. Latour, B.: On technical mediation. Common knowl. 3(2), 29–64 (1994)

    Google Scholar 

  33. Lee, A.S.: A scientific methodology for MIS case studies. MIS Quart. 13, 33–50 (1989)

    Google Scholar 

  34. Lee, A.S., Baskerville, R.L.: Generalizing generalizability in information systems research. Inf. Syst. Res. 14(3), 221–243 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  35. Leth Jespersen, J., Albrechtslund, A., Øhrstrøm, P., Hasle, P., Albretsen, J.: Surveillance, persuasion, and panopticon. In: de Kort, Y., IJsselsteijn, W., Midden, C., Eggen, B., Fogg, B.J. (eds.) PERSUASIVE 2007. LNCS, vol. 4744, pp. 109–120. Springer, Heidelberg (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-77006-0_15

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  36. Linder, C.: Are persuasive technologies really able to communicate?: some remarks to the application of discourse ethics. Int. J. Technoethics (IJT) 5(1), 44–58 (2014)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Linehan, C., Harrer, S., Kirman, B., Lawson, S., Carter, M.: Games against health: a player-centered design philosophy. In: CHI EA 2015, pp. 589–600. ACM, New York (2015)

    Google Scholar 

  38. Lupton, D.: Self-tracking modes: reflexive self-monitoring and data practices. In: Imminent Citizenships: Personhood and Identity Politics in the Informatic Age - Workshop. SSRN (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  39. Nyström, T.: Gamification of persuasive systems for sustainability. In: 2017 Sustainable Internet and ICT for Sustainability (SustainIT). IEEE (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  40. Oinas-Kukkonen, H.: A foundation for the study of behavior change support systems. Pers. Ubiquit. Comput. 17(6), 1223–1235 (2013)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Oinas-Kukkonen, H., Harjumaa, M.: Persuasive systems design: key issues, process model, and system features. Commun. Assoc. Inf. Syst. 24, 28 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  42. de Oliveira, R., Carrascal, J.P.: Towards effective ethical behavior design. In: CHI EA 2014, pp. 2149–2154. ACM, New York (2014)

    Google Scholar 

  43. Page, R.E., Kray, C.: Ethics and persuasive technology: an exploratory study in the context of healthy living. In: Proceedings of the First International Workshop on Nudge & Influence Through Mobile Devices, vol. 690, pp. 19–22. CEUR-WS (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  44. Rawls, J.: A Theory of Justice. Revised edn. Harvard University Press, Cambridge (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  45. Reitberger, W., Güldenpfennig, F., Fitzpatrick, G.: Persuasive technology considered harmful? An exploration of design concerns through the TV companion. In: Bang, M., Ragnemalm, E.L. (eds.) PERSUASIVE 2012. LNCS, vol. 7284, pp. 239–250. Springer, Heidelberg (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31037-9_21

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  46. Seddon, P.B., Scheepers, R.: Generalization in is research: a critique of the conflicting positions of Lee & Baskerville and Tsang & Williams. J. Inf. Technol. 30(1), 30–43 (2015)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. Spahn, A.: And lead us (not) into persuasion...? persuasive technology and the ethics of communication. Sci. Eng. Ethics 18(4), 633–650 (2012)

    Google Scholar 

  48. Stibe, A., Cugelman, B.: Persuasive backfiring: when behavior change interventions trigger unintended negative outcomes. In: Meschtscherjakov, A., De Ruyter, B., Fuchsberger, V., Murer, M., Tscheligi, M. (eds.) PERSUASIVE 2016. LNCS, vol. 9638, pp. 65–77. Springer, Cham (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31510-2_6

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  49. Stock, O., Guerini, M., Pianesi, F.: Ethical dilemmas for adaptive persuasion systems. In: AAAI 2016, pp. 4157–5161. AAAI Press (2016)

    Google Scholar 

  50. Sundström, P.: Interpreting the notion that technology is value-neutral. Med. Health Care Philos. 1(1), 41–45 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  51. Sveriges Radio: SR 3 - radio news: Fifa 18 loot packs part 1 (2018). sverigesradio.se/sida/avsnitt/1031434. Accessed 8 Feb 2020

  52. Sveriges Radio: SR 3 - radio news: Fifa 18 loot packs part 2 (2018). sverigesradio.se/sida/avsnitt/1034069. Accessed 8 Feb 2020

  53. Timmer, J., Kool, L., van Est, R.: Ethical challenges in emerging applications of persuasive technology. In: MacTavish, T., Basapur, S. (eds.) PERSUASIVE 2015. LNCS, vol. 9072, pp. 196–201. Springer, Cham (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20306-5_18

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  54. User testing blog: dark patterns: the sinister side of UX (2015). https://www.usertesting.com/blog/dark-patterns-the-sinister-side-of-ux/. Accessed 10 Apr 2020

  55. Verbeek, P.P.: Ambient intelligence and persuasive technology: the blurring boundaries between human and technology. NanoEthics 3(3), 231 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  56. Yetim, F.: A set of critical heuristics for value sensitive designers and users of persuasive systems. In: ECIS 2011 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  57. Yin, R.K.: Case Study Research: Design and Methods, Sixth edn. Sage publications, Oaks (2017)

    Google Scholar 

  58. Zagal, J.P., Björk, S., Lewis, C.: Dark patterns in the design of games. In: Proceedings of the Conference on Foundations of Digital Games 2013 (2013)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tobias Nyström .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Nyström, T., Stibe, A. (2020). When Persuasive Technology Gets Dark?. In: Themistocleous, M., Papadaki, M., Kamal, M.M. (eds) Information Systems. EMCIS 2020. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing, vol 402. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63396-7_22

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63396-7_22

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-63395-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-63396-7

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics