A placebo button is a control element which has apparent functionality but has no physical effect when pressed. Such buttons can appear to work, which rewards the user by giving them an illusion of control.
A placebo button is a control element which has apparent functionality but has no physical effect when pressed. Such buttons can appear to work, which rewards the user by giving them an illusion of control. Example: Many walk buttons at pedestrian crossings were once functional, but now serve as placebo buttons.
One of the most iconic examples is Pull-to-Refresh animation. This is used because the users expect the refresh to work but they have no control over how long a page would reload. So instead of doing nothing, designers create this Pull-to-Refresh animation to reassure the users that the loading is now indeed undergoing and the page will show up.
