habit weekly's Haunted house
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*Terms and conditions
Should you press "ENTER" you agree to the following legally spell-binding conditions.
- You give away your licence to perform any type of behavioral interventions until you complete this virtual lesson on Sludges.
- You also agree to never unsubscribe to the Habit Weekly newsletter.
- Additionally, you agree to have a curse placed on you until you ensure at least 100 people who are passionate about Behavioral Design subscribe to the Habit Weekly newsletter.
Once again, you have failed to read the terms and conditions
You have now made a deal with the devil and must wade through the sludge to learn your lesson.
Use your arrow keys to navigate ▶️
Hi there, I'm Shadow Cat. If I were you, I'd watch out for tricks disguised as treats, sludge that looks like a nudge. Remember, things are not always as they seem...
To give you a little help, you can rely on the following information to light your path...
SLUDGE
2018
As reinforced by the Behavioral Science High Council, Sludges (or Dark Patters) are any change to someone's behavioural environment causing difficulties in taking desired actions, or facilitating choices that are misaligned to the individual's wellbeing and interests.
Thaler, R. H. (2018). Nudge, not sludge. Science, 361(6401), 431.
Oh, hi Frank! Seems like he wants to tell us something more...
Let's grab him by the hand!
SLUDGE
2018
As reinforced by the Behavioral Science High Council, Sludges (or Dark Patters) are any change to someone's behavioural environment causing difficulties in taking desired actions, or facilitating choices that are misaligned to the individual's wellbeing and interests.
May I add that Sludges can be propagated by malicious or self-interested practitioners, but in reality it’s often just caused by an absence of consideration, empathy, or knowledge about human behaviour.
AhhrrZZZhhhraaa! Ehm, sorry I had to clear my throat.
May I add that Sludges can be propagated by malicious or self-interested practitioners, but in reality it’s often just caused by an absence of consideration, empathy, or knowledge about human behaviour.
Just think of any Terms and Conditions document - it’s there to inform but is rarely even skimmed. How often is this unreadability coming from companies’ lack of expertise in making accessible documents, rather than a place of mischief?
AhhrrZZZhhhraaa! Ehm, sorry I had to clear my throat.
BRAINS!! Ehm, I mean, BYE!
May I add that Sludges can be propagated by malicious or self-interested practitioners, but in reality it’s often just caused by an absence of consideration, empathy, or knowledge about human behaviour.
Aw, thanks for clarifying, Frank!
Even my amazing catsight can't handle this dark though... Let's get back up.
AhhrrZZZhhhraaa! Ehm, sorry I had to clear my throat.
Just think of any Terms and Conditions document - it’s there to inform but is rarely even skimmed. How often is this unreadability coming from companies’ lack of expertise in making accessible documents, rather than a place of mischief?
BRAINS!! Ehm, I mean, BYE!
Roach Motel
Anything the makes it easy to enter but hard to leave. Think increasing implementation costs via friction.
This technique makes it harder to find the information you seek to make a desired decision. AKA as a search cost. This can include choice overload.
Complexity in Information
Lack of Info Transparency
Anything that complicates sorting pros from cons by obscuring relevant info. AKA as evaluation costs.
Missing Empathy
A psychological cost. Anything promoting urgency, stress, helplessness, or shame, which can contribute to making a decision too fast or not at all.
To power you through the hallway of hell and equip you with the knowledge to spot some seriously slippery sludge, open each of the coffins to become a sludge connoisseur.
For example, think of how hard it can be to cancel a subscription.
Roach Motel
For example, think of how hard it can be to cancel a subscription.
This technique makes it harder to find the information you seek to make a desired decision. AKA as a search cost. This can include choice overload.
Complexity in Information
Lack of Info Transparency
Anything that complicates sorting pros from cons by obscuring relevant info. AKA as evaluation costs.
Missing Empathy
A psychological cost. Anything promoting urgency, stress, helplessness, or shame, which can contribute to making a decision too fast or not at all.
Well done. You've now learned the four deadly signs of sludges. Ready to continue?
The hallway of hell awaits you...
Anything the makes it easy to enter but hard to leave. Think increasing implementation costs via friction.
*Terms and conditions. To leave you have to contact the caretaker Bernie’s Mum to open the door again, on +47658403. She works 10-7pm, so leave a message if she doesn’t answer.
You might just be ready to finally attempt your escape. But finding the right door means making some good choices. No pressure. Oh, and don’t pick the sludge.
Enter at your will
free lollypop for you too
Enter at your will
free lollypop for you too*
#Sludge
That’s right! Both doors contain a cheeky incentive, but only the sludge door makes it harder to leave (a Roach motel).
Not Sludge!
Just basic incentivisation.
Well done!
🏆
Enter at your will
free lollypop for you too
Enter at your will
free lollypop for you too*
#Sludge
*Terms and conditions. To leave you have to contact the caretaker Bernie’s Mum to open the door again, on +47658403. She works 10-7pm, so leave a message if she doesn’t answer.
Same story, different doors. Make your choice carefully. Heard someone is out for your blood 👀
10 people looking at this door right now! Jacky from Kansas just went through it!
If you don’t click this door, you won’t ever get a chance again
10 people looking at this door right now! Jacky from Kansas just went through it!
If you don’t click this door, won’t ever get a chance again
Confusing, huh? Both doors are sludges! They’re using psychological nudges that prey on your emotions by instilling urgency and major FOMO. Talk about harnessing the powers of social proof and loss aversion for evil...
Jump twice, bark thrice, and click once to escape.
Click here to escape
(and join a subscription)
The end of this maze is nigh, yet one wrong choice may still prove fatal. Which door will you choose?
Defaults are one of the most common sludges on the interwebs and many a check box is often needed to be unticked in order for people to complete what they set out to do.
Processes that seem unnecessarily complicated or time consuming also constitute as sludge. This is because they too, encourage people to procrastinate on their desired actions.
Jump twice, bark thrice, and click once to escape.
Click here to escape
(and join our newsletter)
Hmmmm… sludges in both doors again!
"False choice?" You say. "Not fair?" Well, I guess this shows that great power is given to those who designs the user experience. Muhahahaha mjau!
Processes that seem unnecessarily complicated or time consuming also constitute as sludge. This is because they too, encourage people to procrastinate on their desired actions.
Defaults are one of the most common sludges on the interwebs and many a check box is often needed to be unticked in order for people to complete what they set out to do.
Jump twice, bark thrice, and click once to escape.
Click here to escape
(and join our newsletter)
And that's the final lesson: With great power comes great responsibility. Don't be a sludger and lets together ensure sludges remain only that of horror tales like this one.
Processes that seem unnecessarily complicated or time consuming also constitute as sludge. This is because they too, encourage people to procrastinate on their desired actions.
Defaults are one of the most common sludges on the interwebs and many a check box is often needed to be unticked in order for people to complete what they set out to do.
Congratulation! You have mastered the basic premises of sludge identification and you've been awarded this key!
Finally, search in the dark for your reward!
I wonder what that key was for...
Tip: Use your cursor to look around. Once found, click on the treasure chest for an anti-sludge gift.
Awesome! You've won a set of templates for identifying the sludge you might have hiding in your own organisation! Click on the gift box to download the paper and resources. And there is more...
Bonus: Three more sludgy rewards for you
Hall of shame
Video on Dark Patterns
Userinyerface
Meet the creators
Diana Chiang
Ella Howes
With a background in psychology, Diana is currently completing her Masters in Behavioural and Data Science at the University of Warwick. When she's not creating content for Habit Weekly or conducting research for Warwick’s Nudge unit, she enjoy long hikes, watering her plants (no Zombies), and drone piloting.
Happy halloween!
– Team HW