Any behavioral psychologists out there? Nothing too serious.

[simple101]

Where I work, customers have to put order forms into a box. The box is periodically emptied and the orders processed.

The box has recently moved....about 4 feet from where it was before.

There is a piece of paper (otherwise known as a notice) explaining that the box has moved and has an arrow pointing in the exact direction of its new position. If I were to draw a line to the box from the arrow it would be perfectly horizontal. The main point is that my desk is in a recess and the box used to be right next to it. The box has now moved out of the recess and along the wall. the recess is about two feet so not a huge distance.

There seems to be two trends in how people react to the box moving.

1) the customer sees the notice, reads it and finds the box within a few seconds. (this is what is supposed to happen.)

2) the customer does not see the notice and looks around for a bit with a confused expression, then asks me where the box has gone. I direct them to the notice, they read it.
This is where is gets a bit weird. The first thing most of them do is look over my counter to the inside of my desk to see if it is down there....on seeing its not there, they look around getting a bit flustered. They then give up trying and ask me again. I show them exactly where it is and they make some comment about it being stupid.(the great british public moaning syndrome.)

Now i could just have directed them to the box in the first instance but having done it 20 times in as many minuets its gets boring very quickly. The notice isnt cryptic so I would like to think that pointing it out would solve the problem so lets not shout at being for being unhelpful.

so the question is: why do the people that fail to see the notice also fail to find the box even after being told to read the notice? And after reading the notice, 70% of them look over the side of my desk as the first thing they do after reading the notice.

Edited by simple101 on Friday 16th April 10:36

[petrolveins]

Many people are complete and utter morons.

There's your answer

End of thread.

Edited by petrolveins on Friday 16th April 10:39

[Four Cofffee]

Its a version of male fridge blindness. We lose the peripheral accuety in our vision once a task has moved from being novel to routine. It enters the autopilot part of the brain and doesn't engage our attentional processes, so you changing something won't matter unless their attention is awoken directed to the fact; they will want to continue with the autonomous behaviour.

You need to move it back into the novel bit of the brain. New shaped box, new form (even just change the colour), so the box/form behavioural link is broken. At the moment all the other triggers are still saying the box will be in X position.

It happens to me all ofthe time with routine paperwork. The right boxes get ticked without thinking but as soon as I change the routine, things get missed unless I up the attentional resources (which are limited and used for stuff not yet in autopilot). It is the limit on attentional resources which makes us have an autopilot for routine tasks.

[tegwin]

People do not read instructions... simple...

We have a sign on the door... says "please knock AND enter"..


Many people just knock and stand outside like a lemon waiting for someone to invite them in...

[simple101]

Four Cofffee said:

Its a version of male fridge blindness. We lose the peripheral accuety in our vision once a task has moved from being novel to routine. It enters the autopilot part of the brain and doesn't engage our attentional processes, so you changing something won't matter unless their attention is awoken directed to the fact; they will want to continue with the autonomous behaviour.

You need to move it back into the novel bit of the brain. New shaped box, new form (even just change the colour), so the box/form behavioural link is broken. At the moment all the other triggers are still saying the box will be in X position.

It happens to me all ofthe time with routine paperwork. The right boxes get ticked without thinking but as soon as I change the routine, things get missed unless I up the attentional resources (which are limited and used for stuff not yet in autopilot). It is the limit on attentional resources which makes us have an autopilot for routine tasks.

That all makes sense. Most of the people in question are women though. I blame female logic blindness!

[bonsai]

Why do you tell them to read the notice rather than just tell them where the box is.

Do you have autism?

[Swilly]

Move the box back

[Dupont666]

why not put the box back?

[Don]

petrolveins said:

Many people are complete and utter morons.

There's your answer

End of thread.

I am convinced that a large proportion of people do, in fact, wander around this Earth with their heads firmly inserted into their own fundament.

Posh word for arse.

[simple101]

bonsai said:

Why do you tell them to read the notice rather than just tell them where the box is.

Do you have autism?

I said this in my OP: Now i could just have directed them to the box in the first instance but having done it 20 times in as many minuets its gets boring very quickly. The notice isnt cryptic so I would like to think that pointing it out would solve the problem so lets not shout at being for being unhelpful.

and I cant put the box back.... there is a water cooler in the way.

Also, its not an issue that they cant find it, they will learn. I just want to know why it is the people who dont see the sign also dont see the box even after reading the sign.

And I do have mild symptoms of autism, yes. (but thats another story.)

[BriC175]

Don said:

petrolveins said:

Many people are complete and utter morons.

There's your answer

End of thread.

I am convinced that a large proportion of people do, in fact, wander around this Earth with their heads firmly inserted into their own fundament.

Posh word for arse.

+1

[C8PPO]

tegwin said:

We have a sign on the door... says "please knock AND enter"..

What is the earthly point of that? Either you want them to knock and wait, or to come in, which presumably will generate adequate noise for you to look up and realise that someone just came in? It's about as useful as this:

[Simpo Two]

How did they find the box in its original position, and why was it moved?

[plg]

tegwin said:

People do not read instructions... simple...

We have a sign on the door... says "please knock AND enter"..

Many people just knock and stand outside like a lemon waiting for someone to invite them in...

Surely that's easier to understand.

When we knock, we expect a response, or confirmation that we may enter - in most situations. Your sign "breaks" the norms and expected behaviours....

[Nolar Dog]

simple101 said:

I just want to know why it is the people who dont see the sign also dont see the box even after reading the sign.

They (eventually) see the sign. They don't read it though.

[Dr Jekyll]

plg said:

tegwin said:

People do not read instructions... simple...

We have a sign on the door... says "please knock AND enter"..

Many people just knock and stand outside like a lemon waiting for someone to invite them in...

Surely that's easier to understand.

When we knock, we expect a response, or confirmation that we may enter - in most situations. Your sign "breaks" the norms and expected behaviours....

I'm always tempted to put a sign on the door with the Malcolm Tucker version.

"Either come the f**k in or f**k the f**k off."

[Acehood]

If the box is only 4 feet from where it was, what was the point of moving it? And how can people not see it? Is it hidden behind something?

[simple101]

Acehood said:

If the box is only 4 feet from where it was, what was the point of moving it? And how can people not see it? Is it hidden behind something?

Thats my point... how can people not see it!!!

its moved because there has been a watercooler installed.

[Acehood]

simple101 said:

Acehood said:

If the box is only 4 feet from where it was, what was the point of moving it? And how can people not see it? Is it hidden behind something?

Thats my point... how can people not see it!!!

its moved because there has been a watercooler installed.

Idiots. I guess these people are used to it being in a certain place? I remember when I lived at my parents house as a kid, after years of the cutlery drawer being on one side of the kitchen it was moved to the other side. I would ALWAYS go to the original location first then realise it'd been moved. I still do it now when I go round there, it's really odd because I KNOW where the drawer is but something makes me go to the original location. Stupid kitchen extension.

[Four Cofffee]

simple101 said:

Four Cofffee said:

Its a version of male fridge blindness. We lose the peripheral accuety in our vision once a task has moved from being novel to routine. It enters the autopilot part of the brain and doesn't engage our attentional processes, so you changing something won't matter unless their attention is awoken directed to the fact; they will want to continue with the autonomous behaviour.

You need to move it back into the novel bit of the brain. New shaped box, new form (even just change the colour), so the box/form behavioural link is broken. At the moment all the other triggers are still saying the box will be in X position.

It happens to me all ofthe time with routine paperwork. The right boxes get ticked without thinking but as soon as I change the routine, things get missed unless I up the attentional resources (which are limited and used for stuff not yet in autopilot). It is the limit on attentional resources which makes us have an autopilot for routine tasks.

That all makes sense. Most of the people in question are women though. I blame female logic blindness!

That will be £200 please. Consultant Psychologist.