2026/07/26 by Katie Seaborn, Jo Yukami, Tatsuya Itagaki +8
Computer Science · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies #Deception detection and forensic psychology #Privacy, Security, and Data Protection
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2026.103903
openalex publication_date 2026/07/26 · crossref created 2026/07/26 · openalex created_date 2026/07/27 · crossref deposited 2026/07/30 · crossref indexed 2026/07/30 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31 · crossref issued 2026/11/01 · crossref published 2026/11/01 · crossref published-print 2026/11/01
Dark commercial patterns and deceptive user interface (UI) designs (or DPs) trick consumers into actions that benefit the shareholders. The legal and ethical implications of DPs are shaped by the sociocultural context. Special types of DPs exist in Japan, but the impact of these DPs on consumer attitudes and behaviour remains underexplored. We report on the first comparative mixed methods user study with Japanese consumers ( ), half of whom ( ) experienced a range of DPs—including the Japanese varieties—in a simulated e-commerce website. We discovered that the Japanese DPs were among the least noticeable and garnered the highest simulated financial harm, with Untranslation perceived as highly disruptive and Alphabet Soup highly deceptive. Comparative analyses with a group that experienced the DP-free version of the online store ( ) revealed a sharp negative difference in positive emotions and acceptance. Qualitative analyses surfaced cultural norms in consumer-business relationships, notably unease, ambivalence, and endured disloyalty (fuseijitsu). Although were involved in a publicly broadcast programme on the study, we did not find evidence of sampling biases, indicating true deception and unacceptability. Our findings suggest that while reactions towards and an individual’s ability to recognize a given DP may vary, overall use of DPs tends to have negative effects on Japanese consumers.