[hn_throwaway_99]

The way I like to think of it is that it's possible to have willpower when I'm feeling strong and only have to make a big decision once - what's really hard is having to use that willpower over and over.

Thus, I've always felt it's better to change your environment than trying to improve your willpower. For example, I got a ton of exercise when I lived in a city when the most convenient thing to do was walk everywhere or take public transportation. When I moved out to the suburbs, I tried to force myself to walk more, but it never really worked. Driving was just by far the easier "default" way of getting places in the 'burbs.

The way I think of it is to try to set things up so you don't have to use willpower in the first place.

[hinkley]

Buying groceries when you’re feeling good, and changing your route through the store to groom yourself for success instead of failure, are common, effective bits of advice for weight loss and healthy eating. Most of the garbage really is in the middle of the store, and I imagine myself diving into deep water to grab ketchup, soup, flour. Get in, get out, no sightseeing.

[analog31]

My shopping list is sequential by aisle, so I don't go down the aisle if it's not on my list.

I wonder if shopping online for delivery helps curb impulse buying

[lazide]

Online delivery unfortunately makes it almost impossible to ‘pick an aisle’, as you’re going to get exposed to dark patterns and ads constantly while interacting with the site.

You also can’t actually see what you’re buying (or feel/touch the actual box), which greatly increases the odds of catching shenanigans.

[antwerp1]

Is “dark patterns” basically behavioral economics or a technical term?

[lazide]

Behavioral economics is ‘white hat’. Influencing (in the actual definition). Figuring out how to get them something that actually does benefit them, and modifying the environment or ‘nudging’ the target to encourage it.

Dark patterns is when the actual long (or short) term benefit of the ‘target’ is not a meaningful part of the goal, and the only consideration given is just a given result for the person with the power. Aka manipulation.

Helping someone looking for an off-road vehicle (because they actually need it), your off-road vehicle which is a pretty good one, is behavioral economics.

Using the same tactics to get the exact same someone to buy your luxury car is dark patterns.

Notably, a con artist/fraud is the criminal face of it - since they never even give the target a car at all, but take their money.

The difference between influence and manipulation is the consideration of the actual well being of the target, and the degree of autonomy allowed the target.

Needless to say, this is also the first thing miscreants start deluding themselves and others on when they start getting predatory.

So it’s a very dangerous area to be in for anyone who actually values ethics/morals.

[antwerp1]

Thank you. Is it a technical term used in marketing?

Plenty of people also criticize behavioral economics for being manipulative, especially if they don’t agree with the behavior to be “corrected”

[hinkley]

Try shopping just the exterior.

The head of UI at Homegrocer was a friend of a friend when they were at their peak, and I was in the middle of my second affair with UX, so we occasionally talked.

He told me he was getting pressure to incorporate dark patterns (though that phrase hadn’t made the rounds at the time) into the site design to get people to do more impulse buying.

Sadly if he had they might still be around.

[bitshaker]

Environment change >>> willpower

[hinkley]

Environment change takes willpower, but is a force multiplier.