The Fun Theory: Rewards Over Punishment

Until recently, we lived in a world where people thought punishment was part of education. The school was concerned with adjusting students until they learned to adjust themselves. Fortunately, this idea is now a thing of the past for most of us. Thanks to theories such as the fun theory, it is clear that there are better methods.

We will not deny that there are people in the world with very selfish behavior patterns. To learn to live in society, we have to get rid of the idea that we ourselves are the center of the world and that all our wishes must come true.

The fun theory basically says that people are more likely to do things they consider “annoying” if there is a fun aspect to it. In other words, a positive incentive can be a great incentive to follow certain rules or do things that are generally good for society.

The origin of the fun theory

The fun theory originated in 2001. However, it didn’t really start in an academic setting. The Volkswagen company sponsored an experiment. In a cross between marketing and social responsibility, this car giant wanted to prove that both social and individual change are possible as long as there are incentives.

For example, Volkswagen launched its “fun theory” to inspire people to live a fuller life, while at the same time naturally trying to give the brand a positive image. Their campaign consisted of conducting social experiments to see how people would react.

Every experiment presents people with a dilemma. They had two options: one that would involve comfort and routine and another that would require some effort, but also involve a fun, out-of-the-box experience.

The first experiment

The first social experiment they conducted was very simple, but also very revealing. It was performed in a very busy place, which is the busiest metro station in Sweden.

On one side was an escalator. To the other side was an ordinary staircase. They wondered how they could get people to use the regular stairs to practice.

They came up with a nice answer to their question. That’s why they came up with something they called “the piano stairs.” So they painted the regular staircase so that it would look like a piano, and they also made each step sound when a piano was stepped on. It was like playing a musical instrument yourself.

The result was surprising. Normally, about 95% of people use the escalator to go up the street. When the piano stairs were ready, 66% of the people opted for the regular stairs. They even seemed to like it!

Other experiments

The second experiment they conducted to see if the fun theory really worked was even more successful than the first. Many people throw  their garbage on the ground without thinking about it .  With that in mind, they set up their next experiment, again in Stockholm, Sweden.

They installed a number of garbage cans with special sensors. Every time someone threw their trash in the trash, it played a cartoon sound like someone falling off a cliff. People really liked it, and some even went beyond throwing out their own trash. They even threw out the trash that was already on the floor!

In one day they doubled the usual waste handling. This was again proof that the fun theory could actually work in some cases. Until now, however, it is something that has only been explored as a marketing tool for companies.

The big question now is whether this would also work for larger problems. As we mentioned above, we are not sure whether this theory can lead to longer-term behavioral changes. There is not enough data to support a theorem in either direction.

Despite that, it’s clear that fun can convince people to do things. Novelty and fun are strong enough to motivate people to get better.