LEVEL 2a: Online Shopping Manipulation

Open Ended

Describe a time where you felt like a website or a video game was trying to get you to spend money you maybe did not want to spend at first

Draw

Predict all of the ways you think this site is trying to persuade you to buy the product by highlighting

Open Ended

Of the things you highlighted, which do you think is MOST convincing in getting people to buy this product and why. 

Drag and Drop

Dark Patterns are features of ​

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design that are intended to ​

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users to do things they may not want to do but will benefit the business. The challenges of cancelling your amazon account is an example of a dark pattern referred to as a ​

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. This is when it is easy to get into a situation but ​

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to get out. 

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

website

trick

roach hotel

difficult

Drag and Drop

Some websites use ​

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as a way to encourage or discourage behavior. For example, spam email have ​

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links that are difficult to find because they look the same as the words around the. Other websites use ​

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(“you just missed, better book now”) as a way to encourage people to buy ​

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rooms. 

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

color

unsubscribe

urgency

hotel

Drag and Drop

Our best ​

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 against these dark patterns is to be ​

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of them and shame the companies that use them to ​

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us. 

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

defense

aware

manipulate

ignorant

benefit

Multiple Choice

Which Dark Pattern do you see in this image?

• Forced Continuity

• Addictive Design

• Roach Motel

• Hidden Costs

• Confirm Shaming

Multiple Choice

You go to buy flowers that were $35 but then you see the Order total at checkout. Which Dark Pattern do you see in this image?

• Forced Continuity

• Addictive Design

• Roach Motel

• Hidden Costs

• Confirm Shaming

Multiple Choice

Which Dark Pattern do you see in this image?

• Forced Continuity

• Addictive Design

• Roach Motel

• Hidden Costs

• Confirm Shaming

Multiple Choice

Which Dark Pattern do you see in this image?

• Forced Continuity

• Addictive Design

• Roach Motel

• Hidden Costs

• Confirm Shaming

Multiple Choice

You open your laptop and it tells you to update. You click the “X” because you don’t want to update but then that button actually makes your computer update

Which dark pattern is this? 

• Forced Continuity

• Addictive Design

• Roach Motel

• Hidden Costs

• Confirm Shaming

Match

Match the following

• Free trial ends and you have to pay unless you cancel

• User sets out to do one thing but something unintended happens instead

• Unexpected charges appear during checkout

• Using language intended to guilt the user into choosing the best option for the business

• Situation that’s easy to get into and hard to get out of 

Forced Contuity

Bait and Switch

Hidden Costs

Confirm Shaming

Roach Motel

• Forced Contuity

• Bait and Switch

• Hidden Costs

• Confirm Shaming

• Roach Motel

Poll

A 2020 research study found that ____ % of people were able to recognize dark patterns on popular apps.

• 25

• 50

• 75

• 90

Open Ended

Explain why people spend less money with cash than they do with a credit/debit card AND connect that to why “free” games have in-game currency that you can purchase with cash. 

Open Ended

Explain a specific example of a game where you have felt pressured to spend money to keep playing the game OR succeed in the game.

Match

Match the following tactic with it's description

• User convert real money into game-currency in order to make purchases (i.e Robux on Roblox)

• Online leaderboards that encourage purchasing enhancements

• Encourages users to spend money they would not otherwise spend

• Using gambling tactics within games (i.e loot/mystery boxes)

Currency Confusion

Monetized Rivalries

Monetary

Gambilification

• Currency Confusion

• Monetized Rivalries

• Monetary

• Gambilification

Open Ended

 In 2-3 sentences, explain how game designers are taking advantage of people in games and why this is important to be aware of. 

Open Ended

Describe a time where you experienced manipulation by a video game or mobile game. Did you ever purchase things using real money?

Open Ended

 Explain 3 manipulation tactics Pokemon Unite uses to get people to spend money in order to play their “free” game 

Multiple Choice

I’m a dark pattern that requires you to provide a credit card number when you sign up for a free trial. When the free trial ends, you are automatically billed for the service moving forward

• Forced Continuity

• Addictive Design

• Roach Motel

• Hidden Costs

Multiple Choice

You have a subscription service that you would like to cancel. You visit the company's website searching for the "cancel subscription" button.

Instead, you have to click through 5 different places to get to a page that says "In order to cancel a subscription, please send a letter to Bad Company at P.O. Box 135 in Sarasota, Florida 34249 with return receipt requested. 2 weeks after mailing this letter, call us at 800-222-8767 and we will confirm your cancellation." 

• Forced Continuity

• Addictive Design

• Roach Motel

• Hidden Costs

Multiple Choice

What is the goal of online shopping manipulation created by web designers? 

• To make websites easier to navigate for uses

• To educate users how to avoid costly mistakes on websites

• To frustrate website users so they leav the site and never return

• To manipulate users to take actions the business wants them to take

Multiple Choice

The best defense for dealing with online shopping manipulation is … 

• Ignorance

• Awareness

• Disgust

• Cooperation

Multiple Choice

When you go to Roblox platform, you can convert dollars into Robuc which allows you to purchase items to do better in the game. You spend more than you intended because it doesn’t seem like real money

• Currency Confusion

• Disguised Ads

• Roach Motel

• Hidden Costs

Open Ended

Should companies be allowed to use these tactics to manipulate people or should the government stop them? Explain your answer in 2-3 sentences. 

Open Ended

How can you use what you learned in this module to be aware of dark patterns and not get taken advantage of by website/game designers?