For Your Eyes Only: A Field Experiment on Nudging Hygienic Behavior

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Science
• Public Health
• Microbiology

Background:

• Gyms are high-risk environments for microorganism transmission.
• Maintaining hygiene compliance is crucial, especially during pandemics like the SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2) outbreak.
• Social cues, like the illusion of being watched, can influence behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To test a social nudge using
• observing eyes
• to increase hygienic behavior in gym members.
• To investigate the effectiveness of implicit observation cues in a natural field experiment.
• To assess the long-term impact and fading salience of these visual stimuli.

Main Methods:

• A natural field experiment was conducted in two Norwegian gyms before the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
• A reversal (ABA) design was employed, alternating periods with and without the "observing eyes" nudge.
• Data were collected from 254 individual choice situations over nine observation sessions across nine weeks, including a follow-up study.

Main Results:

• The "observing eyes" nudge significantly increased gym members' hygienic behavior in both gyms.
• A follow-up study indicated that the nudge's effectiveness decreased over time.
• The findings support the influence of implicit observation cues on behavior.

Conclusions:

• Social nudges, such as visual cues of observation, can effectively promote hygienic practices in public spaces like gyms.
• While initially impactful, the long-term effectiveness of such cues may diminish as their novelty fades.
• Further research is needed to understand how to maintain the salience and impact of implicit observation cues over extended periods.