Nudge theory is an approach that uses behavioural science findings and theories to ‘gently
push’ people into acting. This paper focuses on the possibility of using nudges to improve the
satisfaction of highway rest area users. We set up a mechanism for users of highway parking
rest areas to engage not only in functional behaviour but also free behaviour and to conduct a
demonstration experiment based on nudge theory.
Previous studies have focused on whether or not the nudge theory approach is effective
or not and have come to fairly uniform conclusions. In this study, we measured whether the
effectiveness of the nudges varied according to ‘subject demographics’ and ‘location’. The data
were examined using the two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) method. Results of the experiment,
we were able to detect significant differences between attributes (adults and parents with children)
due to the nudge mechanism.