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Deception considered helpful
I often think of "good experience" as being straightforward, honest, forthright, and so on. And it is, and must be, in most cases. But sometimes deception can be used for good:
• For the very old: a nursing home in Germany built a fake bus stop outside the Alzheimer's ward. The patients sit down, intending to catch a bus, and thus are safer - and easier to find - than if they wandered off down the street. (via bb)
• For the very young: a company sells placebo pills for children who wrongly perceive they're ill and want a pill to feel better. (Yes, I know this comes freighted with all sorts of issues - parents subverting their children's trust, over-reliance on a medicated fix, etc.) If nothing else, a clever take on who might be served by placebos.
• For fast drivers: Ted Dewan placed dummies in the middle of Oxford, UK streets to get people to slow down to see what had happened. He succeeded in slowing down traffic on residential streets - see video clip and a brief case study.
• For everyone else: Deception can be genuinely entertaining. Jamy Ian Swiss, acclaimed sleight-of-hand magician (who I referenced in Pomegranates and empathy), quotes Karl Germain on the craft: "The magician is the most honest of all professionals. He first promises to deceive you, and then he does."
Can anyone think of other examples?
Maybe a better example for the "very young" category would be: I Am Not Afraid Monster Spray
http://www.monsterspray.us
Chicago PD did the same thing as the UK dummies... with real people, and to no effect. They issued 101 citations for failing to yield to a pedestrian.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-crosswalk-10-jun10,0,1453578.story
On a long distance cycle ride I noticed these reflectors which are placed along the roadside near where there are road signs indicating deer. When you drive past at night these reflectors look like the eyes of an animal caught in the headlights. It's a much more effective way of telling people to slow down than just putting a sign up with a picture of a deer on it. The reflectors look like there are deer actually there!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3020/2568176449_4197f5b127_o.jpg
Maybe it's too well-known to be deceptive anymore, but the fly painted in a urinal. Can't vouch for the statistics, but the intention is there.
http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/u/urinal.htm
In healthcare, I found deception to improve the user experience when working with peoples' fears more generally. For example, with developmentally disabled adults who were afraid of bleeding gums (causing them to brush less, increasing their gum bleeding) - red colored toothpaste. For those with Alzheimer's afraid of not being presentable (shampoo rinsing out their ususal blonde hairdye to white) - yellow shampoo. In both cases, the user was much happier with the deception, enjoyed using the products more, and the end result was improved health and hygene.
As a parent of two young boys I am eager to try the fly in the toilet technique! My deception for slowing traffic is to put an old tricycle on the side of the road, but out of sight of the children. I find it to be a very effective way to slow traffic on my block.
In Wisconsin several years back, the state police used inflatable dummies in squad cars to set up fake speed traps. (It worked until one of the dummies deflated a bit--and someone called 911 about an officer in trouble.)
In Philadelphia, they use 3d images that look like speed bumps.
http://www.philebrity.com/2008/06/25/fake-speed-bumps-to-now-have-meaning-in-philly-beyond-friday-nights/