Our colleagues Thomas Mildner and Iddo Wald from the Digital Media Lab will represent us at CHI 2025 with a total of three papers and a Special Interest Group (SIG)
Iddo Wald's paper “Spatial Haptics: A Sensory Substitution Method for Distal Object Detection Using Tactile Cues” deals with the question of how vibro-tactile feedback can be used to detect the localization of an object in 3D space, and a corresponding proof-of-concept study.
Thomas Mildner's paper "A Comparative Study of How People With and Without ADHD Recognize and Avoid Dark Patterns on Social Media" refers to the theory that people with ADHD react more strongly to the common use of attention-grabbing artifacts. The study examines whether the recognition of these patterns differs significantly between people with and without ADHD.
Thomas' second paper, "Getting Trapped in Amazon's Iliad Flow: A Foundation for the Temporal Analysis of Dark Patterns'', describes a temporal analysis and characterization of dark patterns that users try to influence throughout their stay on many apps and websites.
The SIG “Global and Transdisciplinary Perspectives on Dark Patterns and Deceptive Design Practice” by Thomas Mildner deals with the observation that contributions to 'dark patterns' often originate from Western and English backgrounds. In this context, the workshop focuses on intercultural collaboration and knowledge exchange, with the aim of developing culturally sensitive perspectives for research and design ethics, and finding a broad consensus for diverse solutions.
Great success, Iddo and Thomas. Congratulations!
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Here again papers and their respective abstracts
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Spatial Haptics: A Sensory Substitution Method for Distal Object Detection Using Tactile Cues
Authors: Iddo Yehoshua Wald, Donald Degraen, Amber Maimon, Jonas Keppel, Stefan Schneegass, Rainer Malaka
We present a sensory substitution-based method for representing locations of remote objects in 3D space via haptics. By imitating auditory localization processes, we enable vibrotactile localization abilities similar to those of some spiders, elephants, and other species. We evaluated this concept in virtual reality by modulating the vibration amplitude of two controllers depending on relative locations to a target. We developed two implementations applying this method using either ear or hand locations. A proof-of-concept study assessed localization performance and user experience, achieving under 30° differentiation between horizontal targets with no prior training. This unique approach enables localization by using only two actuators, requires low computational power, and could potentially assist users in gaining spatial awareness in challenging environments. We compare the implementations and discuss the use of hands as ears in motion, a novel technique not previously explored in the sensory substitution literature.
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A Comparative Study of How People With and Without ADHD Recognise and Avoid Dark Patterns on Social Media
Authors: Thomas Mildner, Daniel Fidel, Evropi Stefanidi, Pawel Wozniak, Rainer Malaka, Jasmin Niess
Dark patterns are deceptive strategies that recent work in human-computer interaction (HCI) has captured throughout digital domains, including social networking sites (SNSs). While research has identified difficulties among people to recognise dark patterns effectively, few studies consider vulnerable populations and their experience in this regard, including people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), who may be especially susceptible to attention-grabbing tricks. Based on an interactive web study with 135 participants, we investigate SNS users' ability to recognise and avoid dark patterns by comparing results from participants with and without ADHD. In line with prior work, we noticed overall low recognition of dark patterns with no significant differences between the two groups. Yet, ADHD individuals were able to avoid specific dark patterns more often. Our results advance previous work by understanding dark patterns in a realistic environment and offer insights into their effect on vulnerable populations.
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Getting Trapped in Amazon's Iliad Flow'': A Foundation for the Temporal Analysis of Dark Patterns
Authors: Colin M Gray, Thomas Mildner, Ritika Gairola
Dark patterns are ubiquitous in digital systems, impacting users throughout their journeys on many popular apps and websites. While substantial efforts from the research community in the last five years have led to consolidated taxonomies and an ontology of dark patterns, most characterizations of these patterns have been focused on static images or isolated pattern types. In this paper, we leverage documents from a US Federal Trade Commission complaint describing dark patterns in Amazon Prime's Iliad Flow,'' illustrating the interplay of dark patterns across a user journey. We use this case study to illustrate how dark patterns can be characterized and mapped over time, providing a sufficient audit trail and consistent application of dark patterns at high- and meso-level scales. We conclude by describing the groundwork for a methodology of Temporal Analysis of Dark Patterns (TADP) that allows for rigorous identification of dark patterns by researchers, regulators, and legal scholars.
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SIG: Global and Transdisciplinary Perspectives on Dark Patterns and Deceptive Design Practice
Authors: Katie Seaborn, Colin M Gray, JOhanna Gunawan, Thomas Mildner, René Schäfer, Lorena Sánchez Chamorro, Satoshi Nakamura
Dark patterns and deceptive designs (DPs) refer to user interfaces (UIs) that trick people into interactions that benefit service providers. Today, a wealth of scholarship alongside legal action and rising awareness among the public has emerged worldwide. However, we acknowledge that contributions often stem from work conducted within Western and English contexts. In support of diversifying practice and enabling global and transdisciplinary collaboration, we propose a workshop that centres on cross-cultural engagement. To this end, we have two aims: (i) sharing knowledge on the frameworks, methods, and tools used to understand user awareness, expert opinion, and technical detection in pursuit of global consensus (knowledge-sharing) and (ii) exploring culturally-sensitive perspectives on research and design ethics
to craft versatile solutions collaboratively (taking action). This hybrid workshop will bring together a diversity of designers, researchers, and legal scholars to construct and share ethical practices that mitigate DPs.
