In very quick surveys in public areas, we concluded that although people do not know the word nudging, they certainly are aware of the concept and every single person has been confronted with it. The majority agreed with this concept of positive reinforcement and believe in its efficiency while some thought there were better ways to make people do the "right" thing, i.e. education.

During an observation session of our field research, we had noted that although there are lines indicating where one is supposed to position themselves when waiting to enter public transport, barely anyone follows the clue; Some might stand in the correct spot until the tram closes in which is when they start moving and often end up standing right in front of the tram doors.

We placed two footprints on the platform of a tram stop in Rotterdam in order to reinforce positive behaviour in a public space. The footprints were in a rather awkward position which suggested a challenge. Using reverse psychology, we added an explanation which said: I bet you can't stand like this! It was supposed to lure pedestrians into this little exercise which would automatically lead them to standing in the right spot when the tram arrives. Another envisioned outcome was that people would maybe stop before entering the tram to read the sentence, standing next to the door, which would give the people from inside the tram enough time to exit.

Unfortunately, part of the concept of nudging it the necessity of its subtlety. Neither can we actively invite people to join our experiments nor do we get any thoughts or insights on it. Even if it had worked, we would have had to get onto the tram with the people to question them about their behaviour, leading towards the fundamental question of free will.
As much as we like the idea of nudging and using positive reinforcement, we will not us it as a conversation piece as it is not strong enough of a tool to make our audience doubt.

As for our conversation piece, we experimented with a technique of NUDGING, reinforcing positive behaviour in public spaces.

Examples for Nudges are:

Fly in Urinal at Schipol Airport by Aad Kieboom
Source: Design Incubation Centre

Speed bumps on Dutch streets
Source: Slow Streets. Wordpress. 2015

Speed indicator with emoji
Source: Gemeente Steenbergen. 2018