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Official development blog for the PARANOIA roleplaying game. No description is available at your security clearance. The Computer is your friend.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

PARANOIA in the Real World: Pictures of eyes keep you honest 

New Scientist reports that merely posting a picture of watching eyes over an honor-system cash box in the breakroom nearly triples the amount of money employees put in the box.
"Melissa Bateson and colleagues at Newcastle University, UK, put up new price lists each week in their psychology department coffee room. Prices were unchanged, but each week there was a photocopied picture at the top of the list, measuring 15 by 3 centimetres, of either flowers or the eyes of real faces. The faces varied but the eyes always looked directly at the observer.

"In weeks with eyes on the list, staff paid 2.76 times as much for their drinks as in weeks with flowers. 'Frankly we were staggered by the size of the effect,' Gilbert Roberts, one of the researchers, told New Scientist."

Thanks to Gareth Hanrahan, who comments, "I think the phrase is 'aaagh'." (Also seen on Slashdot.)
Posted by: Allen Varney / 9:11 AM

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