When an option is already ticked during software installation, people are more likely to keep it than when they must actively select it. This is the default effect: the option that takes effect when no new action is taken becomes more likely to be chosen.
The effect is not merely laziness. A default removes one comparison and one action. It may also be read as the designer’s recommendation, or experienced as an existing state that would be surrendered by changing it. Johnson and Goldstein’s classic research on organ donation showed that “opt in” and “opt out” default structures can markedly alter consent rates. Yet international donation figures are also shaped by institutions, health systems and culture, so differences between countries cannot by themselves prove that defaults caused the entire effect.
A meta-analysis of 58 studies involving 73,675 participants found a substantial average default effect alongside wide variation. Defaults tended to be stronger when they appeared to convey a trusted recommendation or an established state, while some studies found no significant effect.
A default therefore does not remove choice; it changes the psychological terrain before choice begins. It can help people complete something they already intend but might postpone, or it can conceal an automatic subscription renewal. Whether a default is justified depends not only on its outcome, but also on how easy it is to leave, how clearly it is disclosed, and whether it reasonably represents the user’s interests.
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1091721
https://doi.org/10.1017/bpp.2018.43
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