April 17, 2008


choice architecture

The way options are presented shapes our understanding / acceptance of them. Everything from where a candidate is listed on a ballot to how a doctor defines the odds of a particular surgery changes how we react to the information that is presented to us. In the world of internet development these choices are made and shaped by information architecture; I guess these choices are now being referred to in the real world as choice architecture.

Here’s a fun one.

One memorable example of the power of choice architecture comes from the men’s rooms at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. There the authorities have etched the image of a black housefly into each urinal. It seems that men usually do not pay much attention to where they aim, which can create a bit of a mess, but if they see a target, their attention and accuracy improve. Spillage at the airport decreased by 80%!

posted by Deron Bauman in information architecture, psychology 

comments

2 Responses to “choice architecture”

  1. Deron Bauman on April 17th, 2008 at 8:35 pm

    this makes me wonder who got to measure the spillage.

  2. Jan on April 19th, 2008 at 1:41 pm

    Choice Architecture? Intersting term. Cheers.

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