Mental Tricks in UX Design. Illusion of Control

How to Use Illusion of Control in Design

As users, we like instant system response to all our actions. When a system doesn't respond quickly, we don't feel in control. The most common solution is the loading screen, but people are impatient and hate to wait. Illusion of control comes in handy here—give users interactive elements and do not limit them, even if it seems rational.

Method 1: Placebo Buttons

Placebo buttons are a real and useful tool. The Gmail Refresh button and Pull-to-Refresh in mobile clients give users a feeling of speeding up email delivery—even though email is delivered from the server almost immediately without that action.

Method 2: Incoherent Controlled Process

Idle time feels longer than active time. A system can offer an interactive, exciting process not related to primary actions to keep users engaged. Tutorials with interesting facts, questionnaires, or mini-games are examples. These must be relevant and terminable at any time.

Method 3: Redundant Actions

Providing technically redundant actions creates perceived control. A dialogue window with both a Cancel button and an X button is a good example. Cancel means disapproval; X means hesitation. Removing either removes a meaningful choice from the user.

When You Can't Evoke Illusion of Control

• Build the best loader ever. Well-thought-out loading processes signal predictability even when control is absent.
• Use the system as a cover-up. Use the operating system's loader so negative experience is attributed to the system, not your service.
• Design eye-catching animation. Shift the user's focus from waiting to something visually pleasing.

Take Away

A feeling of control is essential to each of us—more so on an intuitive than on a logical level. Sometimes providing this emotion is more critical than actual control. By designing user experience, we can provide the feeling of control through a set of useful tools.