City Research Online

Abstract

This study investigates the cognitive and emotional impacts of specific ”Deceptive Patterns” in user interface design on well-known online platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Salesforce, Eventbrite, and PayPal. The focus is on two types of deceptive patterns, “hard to cancel” and “hidden subscription” practices. Employing an integrated methodology of electroencephalogram (EEG), eye-tracking, and sentiment analysis, this research analyzes how these patterns influence user behaviour, attention, and emotional responses. The study utilized EEG to measure cognitive load as users interacted with “hard to cancel” interfaces revealing that these platforms increase cognitive demands, inducing greater mental effort and frustration. Eye-tracking data demonstrated that platforms with more transparent mechanisms effectively captured and held user attention on the Terms and Conditions as the key elements, thereby fostering user trust and enhancing transparency. Sentiment analysis further assessed users’ emotional responses, underscoring the positive association between transparent interfaces and user satisfaction. This research highlights the importance of ethical design practices that prioritize user autonomy and transparency, offering a unique methodological contribution through the combined use of EEG, eye-tracking, and sentiment analysis to comprehensively capture cognitive and emotional responses.

Publication Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Computer Society. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Publisher Keywords:	Deceptive Patterns, EEG, Eye Tracking, Cognitive Load, User Experience
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science
Departments:	School of Science & Technology School of Science & Technology > Department of Computer Science
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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