Denna studie utfördes för att undersöka konceptet om mörka designmönster i MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) spel och för att ta reda på vad spelarna tyckte om dem. Detta gjordes för att utöka kunskapen kring ämnet och för att lysa ett ljus på hur spelare blir påverkade av mörka designmönster. Denna studie gjordes dessutom för att det ännu inte finns några undersökningar om spelarnas upplevelser och åsikter kring mörka designmönster i datorspel. Vi valde att fokusera på spelet Runescape då det är ett av de mest populära MMORPG spelen just nu. Dessutom liknar detta spel många andra MMORPG spel i hur det är designat. Definitionerna på mörka designmönster i denna studie kommer huvudsakligen från José Zagals studie om mörka designmönster i spel som publicerades 2013. Denna undersökning utfördes genom att publicera en enkät på några olika Runescape-forum. Enkäten innehöll frågor till spelarna om deras åsikter och syner på de olika mörka designmönster som kan hittas i spelet. Studien visade att spelare har blandade åsikter och att det fanns många spelare som var generellt sett positiva mot de mörka designmönstren i spelet. Många var också väl medvetna om de problematiska aspekterna av dessa och hade negativa åsikter om dem. Trots det tolererade spelarna dem eftersom att de fortsatte spendera väldigt många timmar i spelet. Några av dem med negativa åsikter beskrev hur deras beroende av spelet fick dem att fortsätta spela även fast de tyckte illa om de mörka designmönstren. / This study was performed in order to investigate the concept of dark design patterns in MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) games and what players think about them. This was done in order to deepen the knowledge surrounding this topic and to get more insight to how players are affected by dark design patterns since there are currently no studies on players' opinions on dark design patterns in video games. For the purpose of this study we focused on the game Runescape as it is currently one of the most popular MMORPG games. The game is also very similar to many other MMORPG games when it comes to its design. The definitions of the dark design patterns present in this study primarily come from José Zagals study on dark patterns in games from 2013. Our study was conducted by posting a survey asking the players about their opinions on the dark design patterns that could be identified in Runescape. The survey was posted on a couple of Runescape discussion-forums. The study showed that players had mixed opinions and that many players had a general non-negative view on the dark design patterns present in the game. At the same time, many were also well aware of the problematic aspects of the dark patterns and had negative opinions on them but nevertheless tolerated them as they kept putting many hours into the game. A few of the ones with negative opinions described how their addiction to the game made them keep playing despite disliking the dark design patterns.

Individer står dagligen inför olika valsituationer i både fysiska och digitala miljöer. Begreppet nudging innebär att med små medel vägleda och påverka individer att göra val som anses bättre. Dark patterns används inom nudging med syfte att istället manipulera individer att göra saker de inte avser att göra genom att använda nudging i ett omoraliskt syfte. Litteraturen lyfter fram ett antal etiska perspektiv som behöver tas i beaktning vid utformning av nudgar. Vissa perspektiv verkar det råda konsensus kring, dock finns det olika teorier som skiljer sig från varandra, vilket vi tolkar som att ämnet inte är färdigdiskuterat. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka etiska perspektiv inom nudging och hur dessa påverkar användarupplevelsen av digitala gränssnitt. Detta avser vi att göra genom en kvalitativ studie som undersöker etik inom nudging påverkar användarens upplevelse av autonomi och transparens. För att ta sig an detta utformades en undersökningsmodell som med hjälp av dark patterns undersöker hur dessa, genom autonomi och transparens påverkar användarupplevelsen. De kvalitativa metoder som användes i studien var användartest på ett gränssnitt som vi utformat, baserat på dark patterns. Detta test efterföljdes av intervju- och utvärderingsfrågor. Resultatet från datainsamlingen analyserades och där kunde vi identifiera vissa specifika känsloyttringar som kunde kopplas samman med de olika nudgar deltagarna blivit utsatta för, vilket sedan kunde spåras tillbaka till specifika dark patterns och i sin tur till autonomi eller transparens. Studien konstaterar att det framtagna gränssnittet begränsade både transparens och autonomi vilket kunde konstateras genom ett antal negativa känsloyttringar som deltagarna i studien formulerade. Resultatet av studien är att användning av denna typ av negativt påverkande nudgar i hög grad påverkar användarupplevelsen för de som blir utsatta för dessa. / Individuals face different choice situations on a daily basis in both physical and digital environments. The concept of nudging means using small means to guide and influence individuals to make choices that are considered better. Dark patterns are something used in nudging for the purpose of manipulating individuals to do things they did not intend to do by using nudging for an immoral purpose. Previous research highlights a number of ethical perspectives that need to be taken into account when designing nudges. There seems to be a consensus around some perspectives, however, there are different theories that differ from each other. We interpret that these differences means that this subject has not been fully discussed. The purpose of this study is to investigate ethical perspectives in nudging and how these affect the user experience. We intend to conduct a qualitative study that examines the ethics perspectives of nudging and how it affects the user's experience of autonomy and transparency. To address this, a survey model was created, combining dark patterns, through autonomy and transparency, and how this affects the user experience. We designed an interface based on dark patterns and used this to conduct user tests as a qualitative method. This test was followed by interview and evaluation questions. The results from the data collection were analyzed and we were able to identify certain specific emotional expressions that could be linked to the different nudges the participants had been exposed to, which could then be traced back to specific dark patterns and autonomy or transparency. The study states that the designed interface limited both transparency and autonomy, which could be ascertained through a number of negative emotional expressions formulated by the participants in the study. The result of the study is that the use of this type of negatively affecting nudge greatly affects the user experience for those who are exposed to these.

Sedan införandet av dataskyddsförordningen GDPR den 25 maj 2018 har internetanvändare i alla EU/ESS länder blivit mötta av en förfrågan om godkännande av cookies vid varje besök av en ny hemsida. Frågan ska enligt lag tydligt informera användare om att cookies används, i vilket syfte och hur länge de sparas. Beväpnad med denna information ska användaren sedan ha möjlighet att ta ett välinformerat beslut om hen godkänner webbplatsens användning av cookies och därmed insamlingen av hens personuppgifter. Denna lagstiftning gäller för samtliga webbplatser oavsett offentlig eller privat avsändare och avser att skapa ett skydd för varje individs digitala integritet. Cookies har använts i funktionssyfte sedan internets begynnelse men har under de senare åren använts med stor framgång primärt i marknadsföringssyfte i form av riktad marknadsföring av kommersiella webbplatser. Det finns stor vinning för många företag att användare godkänner dessa cookie-förfrågningar vilket gör att stor vikt läggs vid hur dessa förfrågningar designas. Dark Patterns är ett begrepp på former av konverteringsinriktad design som används för att få användare att utföra handlingar som ej gynnar dem i längden, men som skapar mervärde för aktören bakom. Dessa designval används flitigt över hela internet och har även identifierats i cookie-förfrågningar. Följande studie undersöker hur dessa cookie-förfrågningar är utformade, vilka dark patterns som finns att identifiera i deras gränssnitt samt användares inställning till 15 statliga respektive 15 kommersiella webbplatser. Data för studien har samlats in genom en kvantitativ enkätundersökning med 102 respondenter samt en kvalitativ innehållsanalys av samtliga webbplatser. Empiri från tidigare forskning har använts för att jämföra och styrka studiens slutsats. Användningen av dark patterns har identifierats på både statliga och kommersiella webbplatser men i en högre grad i den sistnämnda. Dessa designval har visats påverka användarens interaktion med förfrågan på ett sätt som är positivt för aktören. Studien har däremot även visat att en lika stor faktor för användarens medvetna beslut är det anseende aktören för webbplatsen har. Avslutningsvis visar studien att dagens internetanvändare generellt är trötta på konstanta förfrågningar med samma eller liknande information, och vad som var avsett att skapa en trygghetskänsla hos användaren har i stället bara blivit ett evigt störningsmoment. / Since the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) on May 25th, 2018, users in EU/EEC countries have encountered cookie approval requests upon accessing new websites. By legal demand, these cookie prompts must provide information on the use of cookies, their purpose, and the duration of data retention. With this knowledge, users are expected to make informed decisions regarding their consent to the website's cookies and data collection utilization. This legislation applies universally to all websites, regardless of their public or private nature, to protect individuals’ digital privacy. While cookies have served functional purposes since the early days of the Internet, their recent substantial adoption for targeted marketing by commercial websites has provided significant advantages for many companies. Consequently, precise attention is placed on the design of these cookie requests themselves. Dark Patterns represent a form of conversion-oriented design tactics employed to impact users to perform certain actions that may not be beneficial in the long term but generate value for the entity implementing them. These design choices are prevalent across the internet and have also been identified within the context of cookie prompts. This study observes the design elements of such cookie prompts, identifies the presence of dark patterns within their interfaces, and examines user attitudes toward these prompts. The research analyzes 15 government websites and 15 commercial websites through a qualitative content analysis that uncovers hidden information. As a complement, an additional quantitative survey was formed by collecting data from 102 respondents. The study leverages empirical evidence from previous research to strengthen its findings and comparisons. Findings show that the use of dark patterns on both government and commercial websites is evident, with a more noticeable occurrence on commercial ones. These design choices have been observed to influence user interactions with the requests to favor the sender implementing the dark patterns. However, the research also demonstrates that the senders' reputation equally influences users' conscious decision-making process. In conclusion, the study indicates that contemporary internet users generally experience weariness due to persistent requests featuring repetitive or similar information. What was initially intended to instill a sense of user security has instead become an enduring source of disruption.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vad det är som får spelarna att stanna kvar i spelet under en spelsession. Spelmarknaden kan delas upp i två typer av spel, antingen Open World-spel där användaren fritt kan ströva omkring i en virtuell värld och ges en betydande frihet i att välja hur denne skall nå sina mål eller linjära spel där användaren styrs av start och slutscener. Det är mycket vanligt i designen av den andra varianten (linjära spel) att användaren själv, aktivt väljer att starta nästa omgång. För att begränsa omfattning på denna studie har studien gjorts på linjära spel där användaren aktivt väljer att påbörja en ny omgång och exempel på speltyper som ofta inkluderas i linjära spel är MOBA, Battle Royal eller Första Personskjutare. Detta beslut har gjorts för att kunna jämföra resultatet med andra studier om binge-beteende. Binge är ett begrepp många inte har hört idag men som det talas allt mer om. Begreppet används ofta för att beskriva konsumenter som sträcktittar på TV-serier men har även börjat appliceras på flera aktiviteter då man gör något överdrivet under en period.  För att svara på frågeställningen ”Vilka faktorer uppmuntrar användaren till ett bingebeteende?” Har jag valt att se på problemet från två olika vinklar och delat upp detta i två arbetsfrågor ”Vilka externa faktorer utanför spelets design påverkar användaren?” och ”Vilka implementerade funktioner påverkar användaren?” Resultatet från intervjustudien visar att den sociala miljön som datorspel erbjuder, men som också skapas av användaren själv genom att man bygger en social umgängeskrets i spelmiljön påverkar användaren att fortsätta spela. Under intervjuerna gav intervjupersonerna exempel på att om man blir ombedd att spela en omgång till av kompisarna eller att man har så roligt tillsammans att man inte vill avbryta så leder det till att man fortsätter spela trots att kan från början inte har planerat det.    Studien visade även på en stor betydelse av den implementerade designimplementationen grinding, förmågan att genom att spela längre låsa upp nya saker, gå upp i level eller klättra i ett rankat tävlingssystem.  En slutsats efter denna intervjustudie är att det finns bingebeteende i relation med datorspel, exakt i vilken form och till vilken grad det uppkommer beror på hur man definierar binge. Det går även påvisa att grinding och den sociala aspekten i spelen bidrar i hög grad till att spelsessionerna blir längre än vad personerna först planerade. / The purpose of this study is to investigate what causes the players to remain in the game during a game session. The gaming market can be divided into two types of games, either Open World games where the user can freely roam in a virtual world and is given considerable freedom in choosing how to achieve their goals or linear games where the user is guided by start and end scenes. It is very common in the design of the second type (linear games) that the user himself, actively chooses to start the next round. To limit the scope of this study has the study has been focused on linear games where the user actively chooses to start a new round and examples of game types that are often included in linear games are MOBA, Battle Royal or First-Person Shooter. This decision has been made to compare the results with other studies on binge behavior. Binge is a concept many have not heard about today but as it is more and more common. The term is often used to describe consumers who is watching an excessive amount of TV series but has also started to apply to several activities when doing something exaggerated during a period. To answer the question "What factors encourage the user’s binge behavior?" Have I chosen to look at the problem from two different angles and divided this into two work issues "What external factors outside the game's design affect the user?" And "What implemented functions affect the user?" The result of the interview study shows that the social environment that computer games offers, but which is also created by the user himself by building a social circle in the gaming environment, affects the user to continue playing. During the interviews, the interviewees gave for example that you have so much fun playing together that you do not want to interrupt, this will lead to them continuing to play. The study also showed a great importance of the design implementation grinding, the ability to, by playing longer, unlocking new things, increasing in levels or climbing in a ranked system. One conclusion after this interview study is that there is a binge behavior in relation to computer games, exactly in what form and to what degree it occurs depends on how one defines binge. It is also possible to demonstrate that grinding and the social aspect of the games greatly contribute to the fact that the gaming sessions are longer than the people first planned

Skuldsättningen kopplad till konsumtion ökar i det svenska samhället, vilket gått hand i hand med e-handelns framväxt och faktura som populär betalmetod. Betallösningar som tillhandahåller faktura och delbetalning som betalmetoder åt e-handlare har i och med det fått kritik av media och ny lagstiftning mot viss typ av beteendedesign i betallösningarnas tjänster har även införts. Trots samhällsdebatten har det saknats forskning på hur kunder väljer betalmetod och deras upplevelser av påverkan från beteendedesign inom betallösningarna. Denna studie har därför haft som syfte att ge inledande insikter och kunskap om detta. Kvalitativa metoder har använts tillsammans med teori om beteendedesign och hur människor fattar beslut. Specifikt har teorin bestått av Theory of Planned Behaviour och tre typer av beteendedesign - persuasive design, digital nudging och dark patterns. En utvärdering av betallösningarna Klarna och Qliro genomfördes med syfte att identifiera beteendedesign i deras tjänster. Därefter genomfördes intervjuer med användare för att förstå deras beslutsprocess vid val av betalmetod och hur beteendedesign kan tänkas påverka dem i denna kontext. Resultaten visade att informanterna hade ett invant beteende vid val av betalmetod när de genomför köp online. Oavsett om den föredragna betalmetoden var kortbetalning eller faktura verkar valet främst baseras på upplevd kontroll. Hur enkel och trygg betalmetoden känns är de främsta faktorerna som påverkar valet. Beteendedesign tycktes inte ha en direkt påverkan på valet av betalmetod för användarna i denna studie, troligen på grund av att de vanor och attityder som användarna redan har är så pass välgrundade. Om beteendedesign haft en inverkan på hur dessa vanor och attityder har formats från början kan däremot inte resultaten från studien ge svar på. / The amount of debt connected to consumption is increasing in the Swedish society. This increase has coincided with the emergence of e-commerce and invoice as a popular payment method. Payment solutions that provides invoice and installment as payment methods for e-commerce sites has because of this received criticism by media and a new legislation against a certain type of behavioral design in payment solutions has been introduced. Despite the public debate there is a lack of research about how users choose payment method and their experiences about the impact that behavioral design has within this context. The aim of this study was to provide initial insights and knowledge about this topic. Qualitative methods were used together with theory about behavioral design and human decision making. Specifically, Theory of Planned Behavior and three types of behavioral design – persuasive design, digital nudging and dark patterns. An evaluation of the two payment solutions Klarna and Qliro, was carried out to identify behavioral design in their services. This was followed by interviews with users to get an understanding about their decision process when choosing payment method and how behavioral design impact this process. The results showed that the users in this study had a habitual behavioral when it comes to choosing payment method when shopping online. Regardless if the preferred method is invoice or card payment it seems as if the choice is mainly based on perceived control. How easy and safe the payment method feels are the main factors that impacts the choice. Behavioral design does not seem to have a direct impact on the choice of payment method for the users in this study, probably because the habits and attitudes that they already have are well-grounded. However, if behavioral design had an impact in forming the habits and attitudes from the start is something the result from this study cannot answer.

[pt] Nessa tese são investigadas as transformações no ambiente digital circunscritas às interseções entre as novas práticas do marketing e a proteção do consumidor-titular de dados pessoais. O fio condutor é a consolidação da informação como um importante ativo na sociedade de consumo contemporânea. A partir da perspectiva do capitalismo de vigilância, os principais fenômenos que contribuem para o estabelecimento de uma estrutura de estímulos e controles que permeiam, de maneira imperceptível aos olhos do consumidor, a sua jornada de consumo, são analisados. Verifica-se que a publicidade digital, em especial a chamada publicidade comportamental direcionada conforme o perfil do consumidor, apesar de alvo de críticas da doutrina e de interesse por parte da legislação, é apenas a parte visível de uma arquitetura de escolhas permeada por dark patterns que atrapalham a proteção do consumidor em ambiente digital. Nesse cenário, a pesquisa investiga a suficiência dos mecanismos de proteção de dados pessoais, bem como a existência de uma nova e universal vulnerabilidade do consumidor. Trata-se da vulnerabilidade digital, que dá origem a um estado, também universal, de hipossuficiência do consumidor diante das práticas comerciais em ambiente digital. / [en] In this thesis examines the transformations in the digital environment circumscribed to the intersections between new marketing practices and the protection of the consumer-data subjects. The main drive is the strengthening of information as an important asset in contemporary consumer society. From the perspective of surveillance capitalism, it analyzes the central phenomena that contributes to the establishment of a structure of stimuli and controls that permeate, imperceptibly to the consumer s eyes, his journey. It is verified that digital advertising, especially the so-called behavioral advertising, directed according to the consumer s profile, despite being target of criticism by the doctrine and of interest by the legislation, is only the visible part of an architecture of choices permeated by dark patterns that hinder consumer protection in the digital environment. In this scenario, the research investigates the sufficiency of personal data protection mechanisms, as well as the existence of a new and universal consumer vulnerability. Which is the digital vulnerability that gives rise as well to a universal state of consumer hyposufficiency before commercial practices in the digital environment.

Introduction – Confirmshaming is a dark pattern that seeks to shame users into acting differently than they normally would. Purpose – The purpose of his study was to determine if and to what extent confirmshaming influences users to stay subscribed, and through this understand how confirmshaming impacts the user experience and thereby the perception of the companies that utilise it. Method – The method of choice was a qualitative case study that subjected participants to confirmshaming in an unsubscription process through a user test, followed by semi‑structured interviews in order to understand the participants’ behaviour and thoughts after they had been a victim of the tactic. Findings – As a result of the study, we found that confirmshaming during unsubscription processes is an ineffective strategy. A majority of users perceive the companies that employ it in a negative fashion and regard them as unprofessional and desperate. This implicates that confirmshaming in unsubscription processes is a loss-loss situation for both users and companies and should not be used. Limitations – This research was solely a qualitative study that focused on a small group of people. The results cannot be generalised to the general public and should instead be viewed as an introduction to the implications of confirmshaming. Further, the study was limited to the user experience and we did not measure how frequently occurring the phenomenon is.

Dark game design patterns are features used by game creators to manipulate the player to make certain choices. These patterns can lead to unintentional player actions causing negative experiences. In this descriptive user experience study, focused on the mobile game Candy Crush Saga, the dark patterns’ effect on desirability (whether something is fun and engaging) and the players’ decision to quit or continue to be a player due to the patterns were investigated. An online survey, where the participants were asked about their feelings towards five different dark patterns identified within Candy Crush Saga, was conducted and distributed by using Google Forms and Facebook. The survey received 60 responses from current and previous players of the game. The sample was not controlled and rather homogeneous, therefore it was not necessarily representative of the entire Candy Crush Saga audience. The analysis of the gathered data indicated correlation between the use of certain types of dark patterns and decreased desirability. Some variation could be detected between the effects of different dark patterns. Similarly, certain patterns had a stronger impact on the players’ decision to quit being a player and other patterns on the choice to continue. Four out of the five patterns studied were indicated as both a reason to quit for some and a reason to continue for others.  The results offer insight to game developers and businesses about the previously insufficiently studied connection between the dark game design patterns and their direct effects to the users’ perceived experience. It is apparent that a decrease in the use of certain dark patterns would contribute to  a more positive playing experience.

The study is to establish whether there is any impact on the social media company that is implementing the deceptive design on the account deletion process. By conducting the qualitative research with Instagram users and analyzing users’ feelings, opinions, and potential actions, the study finds out using the deceptive design on account deletion process on social media has a weak influence on the social media company.

Previous studies have shown that companies behind applications and websites are using strategic ways of manipulating and misleading their users, often through interface and design. This behavior is described in terms of dark patterns. The main reason for these deceptive ways is to trick users into doing things they may not intended to do from the beginning, for example sharing of personal data and exposing more of their privacy than what is needed for the purpose of the service. Dating through different applications has become a more common way to find love. What these apps usually have in common is the need for gathering personal data from their uses, and in many cases this includes sensitive personal data like sexual orientation. Because of this, the purpose of the study was to examine whether dating apps care for their user’s integrity or also use suspect ways to manipulate through structure, design and content. Five of the most used dating apps in Sweden were observed through a qualitative content analysis with a focus on aspects that are relevant in information architecture. The results showed that all of the apps were using design in manipulative ways and two of them even made it impossible to quit the account after registration. These discoveries really raises questions about whether it is ethical of companies to work in this way and if they care more about their own gain than their users’ integrity.