Dark Intentions or Persuasion? UX Designers' Activation of Stakeholder and User Values

Formalized frameworks that reference ethics and values have received increasing attention in the HCI community. These methods emphasize the importance of values in relation to design but provide little guidance to reveal the values that are present or have impact on designers' decision making. In this work-in-progress, we identify the values considered by student UX designers when conducting an authentic design task, allowing for interrogation of the possible intentions that underlie their decision making. Our exploratory analysis revealed that participants had sensitivity towards user values, but often contradicted these values through dark, often tacit, intentions to persuade users, thereby achieving stakeholder goals. We provide provocations for future research on the role of ethics and values in practice and design education.