The Science of Fun

Everyone likes to have fun! 

Lately, a lot of research on the effects of fun have come about.

Let's take a look at some "fun" experiments.

While watching, think about how these experiments fit to the Scientific Method:

• What was the problem that they were trying to solve?
• What was their hypothesis?
• How did they run their experiment? What was their procedure?
• Did they get any data about the effect of their experiment?
• What conclusions could you make based on the data provided?

The first five of these experiments come from The Fun Theory at:
http://www.thefuntheory.com/

<Textual descriptions come from the Fun Theory website. Please visit the site for more information! This information was used here to help organize the learning episode!>

The Play Belt

Can we ensure everyone keeps their safety belt on by making it fun to do? This is another of the ideas that made it to the final of the fun theory award, created by Nevena Stojanovic from Serbia. The idea is being tested in Sweden in the hope it could be applied to all vehicles in the future.

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Bottle Bank Arcade Machine

Many of us return our plastic bottles and cans. Noticeably fewer recycle their glass. Maybe that's because we don't get any money in return, as we do for cans and plastic. Can we change this attitude by making recycling glass fun to do? So you are not just rewarded with a good conscience, you also get a smile. See the results here. 

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The Speed Camera Lottery

The winning idea of the fun theory award, submitted by Kevin Richardson, USA. Can we get more people to obey the speed limit by making it fun to do? This was the question Kevin’s idea answered and it was so good that Volkswagen, together with The Swedish National Society for Road Safety, actually made this innovative idea a reality in Stockholm, Sweden.

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Piano Staircase

”Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator and feel better” is something we often hear or read in the Sunday papers. Few people actually follow that advice. Can we get more people to take the stairs over the escalator by making it fun to do? See the results here:

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The World's Deepest Bin

To throw rubbish in the bin instead of onto the floor shouldn’t really be so hard. Many people still fail to do so. Can we get more people to throw rubbish into the bin, rather than onto the ground, by making it fun to do? See the results here.

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Coca Cola did things a little differently. They weren't necessarily trying to change behavior and gather data...they were just trying to create a really fun add!

If you were to create a scientific experiment from their Happiness Machine, what would that look like? What types of things could you measure?

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