Filtered dossier

defaults

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    Decision Architecture Entry #0126

    Why the default option decides more than the argument

    Whoever chooses what happens when nobody chooses has more influence than everyone who argued. Defaults are the quietest form of authority there is.

    Novice
    The hidden part #0126

    A default is not an absence of a decision. It is a decision made in advance, by somebody else, for everyone who does not intervene.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Choice Design Entry #0231

    The reason infinite scroll removes the decision to stop

    Paginated lists end, and every ending forces a choice. A feed that never ends never asks the question, so the session ends by exhaustion instead.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0231

    Endings are where choices live. Remove the boundary and continuation stops being a decision at all.

    Open file
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    Decision Architecture Entry #0129

    The reason opt-out consent produces near-total participation

    Switching a form from tick-to-join to tick-to-leave can move participation from a minority to almost everyone. The preference did not move; the effort did.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0129

    A default is not a starting point but a recommendation with friction attached. Most people accept both without noticing either.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Choice Design Entry #0226

    Why the button you want is never the bright one

    Interfaces rarely hide the option you came for. They make it quiet, and visual weight decides the click long before the wording is read.

    Novice
    The hidden part #0226

    The cheapest way to change a decision is not to remove an option but to lower its contrast.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Price Psychology Entry #0365

    Why an annual plan hides the churn decision

    A monthly cycle asks the customer twelve times whether to continue. An annual cycle asks once, and inertia answers on every day in between.

    Master
    The hidden part #0365

    Retention is not only how much people want to continue. It is how often they are asked to decide.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Decision Architecture Entry #0140

    Why the checkbox already ticked is the business model

    A pre-ticked box does not persuade anyone. It converts consent from something obtained into something not withdrawn, and inattention supplies the difference.

    Master
    The hidden part #0140

    The default is not a suggestion. It is the answer given by everyone who does not answer.

    Open file
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    Platform Mechanics Entry #0296

    Why open standards lose to closed ones with better defaults

    Nobody chooses a format. They accept the one that works without configuration, and the better committee loses to the better installer.

    Novice
    The hidden part #0296

    A standard that must be chosen competes against one that is already selected. Increasing returns then make the early gap permanent.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Framing Effects Entry #0511

    Why default framing decides organ donation rates

    Similar populations record wildly different consent rates. The gap tracks which answer required an action, though the causal chain runs longer than it looks.

    Novice
    The hidden part #0511

    The default reliably changes what the register says. Whether it changes what happens afterwards is a separate question with a messier answer.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Decision Architecture Entry #0150

    Why the wording of a default reveals the intended answer

    A pre-selected option is not read as an arbitrary starting point. It is read as advice from whoever built the form, and usually that reading is correct.

    Adept
    The hidden part #0150

    A pre-ticked box is advice with the author removed. Reading it as a recommendation is not a mistake, it is accurate.

    Open file
  • No visual on file
    Choice Design Entry #0246

    Why the option labelled advanced is rarely used

    The word advanced does not describe the settings behind it. It describes who is invited to open them, and most people decline the invitation.

    Novice
    The hidden part #0246

    A label saying advanced locks nothing. It only names who belongs, and usage statistics then read the deterrent as disinterest.

    Open file