Bicycle thefts have been reduced by
putting pictures of staring eyes above cycle racks, researchers have found. A team from Newcastle University decided to test the theory that people
behave better when they think they are being watched. For two years they studied crime rates at campus racks and found a drop of
62% at those which displayed eye posters.
For the first year the Newcastle team monitored bike thefts from all racks
across campus for a control figure, then placed the eye signs in three
locations, leaving the rest of the racks without signs. The idea for the research was inspired by a 2010 study which showed diners in
a canteen were more likely to clear away their tray when there were eyes
watching them.
Academics found that bike racks which had eyes placed above them experienced
62% fewer thefts than the previous year, while those without eyes saw thefts
increase by 63%. Lead researcher Prof Daniel Nettle, said: "We don't know exactly what is
happening here but this just adds to the growing evidence that images of eyes
can have a big impact on behaviour.
YouTube link. BBC News link.
"We think that the presence of eye images can encourage co-operative
behaviour. One strong possibility is that the images of eyes work by making
people feel watched. We care what other people think about us, and as a result we behave better
when we feel we are being observed." The crime-fighting idea is now being tested at various train stations by British Transport Police (BTP).
2 comments:
"One strong possibility is that the images of eyes work by making people feel watched."
Talk about the Ministry of the Bleedin' Obvious.
What if they put up Greek ship style eyes or Egyptian Wadjet symbols? Wonder if those would work, too!
jmb
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