When does motivational design cross the line into digital deception?
Our next speaker in the Digital Minds lecture series is Vero Vanden Abeele from the eMedia Research Lab and the Department of Computer Science at KU Leuven.
About the lecture:
Motivational Design or Deceptive Patterns? Rethinking UX, Cognition, and Ethics in Digital Platforms
In this research talk, the focus is on how digital platforms deploy motivational design to drive engagement and product-led growth, and how the same design choices can slip into deceptive user experience patterns that monetize attention, data, and spending. Drawing on examples from everyday apps and platforms, the talk unpacks how subtle interface choices shape what users notice, consent to, and ultimately do. It combines three lenses – UX design, cognitive psychology, and social ethics – to diagnose when a pattern crosses the line from persuasive to deceptive, and to articulate what “fair” and respectful alternatives could look like. From a design perspective, the talk explores how affordances, interaction flows, and feedback loops can be reconfigured to support user autonomy. From a cognitive perspective, it examines how biases and limitations are either exploited or safeguarded. From an ethical-legal perspective, it considers the implications for individual rights and collective well‑being. Altogether, the talk argues for a shift from growth-at-all-costs metrics toward design practices that enable engaging, healthy, and transparent digital environments, and offers concrete principles to help researchers and practitioners identify, mitigate, and transform deceptive patterns.
Date: 15 January 2026, 16:00-17:30 (CET)
Place: Join the event online via ZOOM!
Register here:
Registration: Digital Minds - Speaker: Vero Vanden Abeele – Fill in form
Registration closes on 14 January 2026!
Join us and stay mindful in the digital age!
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About the lecture series:
Digital Minds is a lecture series on media psychology, human-computer interaction, and cognitive development in the digital era. The series is organized by the Alpha Generation Lab, Eötvös Loránd University.
We invite distinguished researchers working in areas such as:
● the impact of digital media on cognition, relationships, and well-being (in both children and adults)
● problematic digital media use and digital addictions
● human-computer and human-robot interaction
● digital literacy and learning in digital environments
● psychological aspects of living in the age of artificial intelligence
● psychology and UX design
Feel free to contact us at [email protected] for further information!
The event's privacy notice is available here: https://www.alphageneration.eu/files/privacy-notice-digital-minds-january-2026.pdf