Attention Capture
Nagging
The same request returns until refusal starts to feel like labor.
What is it?
A product repeatedly interrupts the user with prompts, upsells, permissions, ratings, or reminders after they have already declined.
How it works
The pattern changes the cost of thinking. It makes the preferred action immediate, emotionally charged, or visually dominant, while making the more reflective action slower, duller, or easier to doubt.
Visual Example
A simplified specimen designed to make the pattern recognizable at a glance.
Repeated mobile prompt
visual specimen
Enable notifications?
Offers, alerts, updates...
Shown 1 times
Psychology
Real World Example
- Rate us appears after every launch.
- Enable notifications returns after repeated dismissals.
Origin: Mobile apps, SaaS onboarding, games, and ecommerce apps.
Ethical Alternative
Respect declines, add cooldowns, and let users reopen prompts from settings when they are ready.
Toxicity Meter
Manipulation dimensions