Shaping Behavior Through Fun

A friend of mine shared this link on Facebook and I had to post it, as there is a lesson here somewhere for businesses about shaping consumer behavior — or at least promoting wellness to your staff. Thanks to the FunTheory.com for telling the story of this staircase in Sweden. Here’s the skinny:

There is a set of stairs, with a moving escalator next to it …. both of which lead to the same spot on the floor of the upper level. At first no one took the stairs, almost 97% of the people took the escalator. Okay. I think that could be a normal expected result. Then a group of engineers got together, and decided they wanted to change the percentage around. Notice what these scientists did. Clever huh. And now they have reversed the percentages, as a whopping 66% more people take the stairs, than ride the escalator.

Although, my friend did add: "They tried this in America but someone broke their ankle, sued, and a politician tried to outlaw stairs."