Exhibit 03
The Lab
Four experiments. Each one puts you inside a different mechanism of defaults — not to read about it, but to feel it.
Experiment 01
The Cookie Maze
Accepting cookies takes one click. Find "Reject All." We'll count every click it takes.
Research shows 95% of users accept cookie defaults without changing any settings. The complexity is not accidental — it is a design choice.
Experiment 02
The Framing Machine
Two framings of the same choice. Make your decision in each. See whether your answer changes.
You will see a choice presented in Frame A. Pick what feels right. The card will flip to Frame B — the same choice, described differently. Pick again.
There are two scenarios. Just follow your instinct.
Wording is architecture.
Neither framing lied to you. Both described the same facts. But the words alone changed how you processed the choice — and this effect is consistent, involuntary, and largely invisible to the people it affects.
Defaults exploit this constantly. "Recommended," "current," and "standard" are not neutral descriptions. They are design decisions that shift behavior at scale.
Experiment 03
The Friction Slider
Each dot is a person. Drag the slider to change how hard it is to opt out. Watch what happens to the people.
At this level, 128 of 200 people opt out. The other 72 give up.
Experiment 04
Default Spotter
A settings page. Nine pre-selected defaults are in it. You have 20 seconds to find and click them all.
Click every item that is pre-selected by default. Found items will highlight. When time runs out you will see what you missed — and how many most people catch.
Most people in this experiment find 3 or 4 of the 9. The ones most often missed are framed as helpful ("improve the product") or buried in low-attention sections like billing.