Target of Choice

Choice architecture is where the arrangement of the item of context influences the choice that the end user of the item makes a choice. It uses phsychology to affect the choice the end-user makes.

My favorite example is from a LA Times article on choice architecture, which describes the choice architecture of a urinal fly in Amsterdam.

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%!

Mothers and housekeepers rejoice! All you need to reduce splashes of urine around your toilets is drain the toilet, etch a fly onto the ideal target, then sit back and enjoy an 80% work reduction! Because you know how us men love target practice in any form.

More serious examples include arrangement of food in a school lunchroom line affect the choices made by students, how a doctor describes survival odds of a surgery can affect how many people choose to have the surgery (90% survive vs. 10% die as the leading statistic) and even ballot placement - the first listed can get a 4% boost.

How many of the choices we make are actually our own choices? I believe that persuasion is largely choice architecture.

The laws of physics say that a body in motion will take the path of least resistance. If you want to persuade people to do what you want, you make the choice that you want the person to make into the path of least resistance for them. Most of them will take the path you made easier.

Check it out next time you shop for groceries. Look at how the food is arranged. Foods that appeal to children are at their eye level. The fresh food that is healthier for you is around the edges. The junk food is in the middle sections, but placed prominently where you can find it easily. Did you really make the choice or did the food industry just make it for you by making it the path of least resistance?

Food for thought.