IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jeborg/v244y2026ics0167268126000557.html

The transaction test: An experimental method for assessing online interfaces

Author

Listed:
  • Bogliacino, Francesco
  • Pejsachowicz, Leonardo
  • Liva, Giovanni
  • Lupiáñez-Villanueva, Francisco

Abstract

This article introduces the transaction test, a novel experimental method to detect whether a website customization can be deceptive. The method measures changes in choice inconsistency with respect to a plain design. In a highly powered online experiment, we assess three dark patterns and one transparency-based remedy in decisions involving data protection. Compared to a placebo condition, dark patterns increase the likelihood of choice inconsistency by an effect in the range of 6-12 percentage points, depending on experimental conditions. The transparency-based remedy fails to mitigate these effects. A second study implements the transaction test in a market experiment. Here, one of the treatments from the online experiment increases inconsistency by 42 pp. Two additional deceptive designs are tested, respectively favoring consistent and inconsistent choices. The Dark Pattern version raises inconsistency by 18 pp while the Bright Pattern reduces it by 15 pp. Our findings demonstrate how the transaction test, by providing an empirical assessment of the legal concept of unfairness, offers a flexible tool for the regulation of dark patterns and other commercial practices.

Suggested Citation

  • Bogliacino, Francesco & Pejsachowicz, Leonardo & Liva, Giovanni & Lupiáñez-Villanueva, Francisco, 2026. "The transaction test: An experimental method for assessing online interfaces," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 244(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:244:y:2026:i:c:s0167268126000557
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2026.107469
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167268126000557
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jebo.2026.107469?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • C92 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Group Behavior
    • D18 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Protection
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • L13 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Oligopoly and Other Imperfect Markets

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:244:y:2026:i:c:s0167268126000557. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jebo .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.