From inertia to action: how humorous signs nudge tourists toward sustainability
通过五项研究（包括实地实验和眼动追踪），发现幽默标识能吸引游客注意力、减少惯性，从而提升回收、节水等可持续行为意愿和实际行动，为旅游地提供低成本高效益的环保工具。
Employing signs is a popular strategy to encourage tourists to protect the environment. This research explores whether and how humorous signs impact tourists’ sustainable behavior. Drawing on status quo bias theory, we suggest that humorous signs capture tourists’ attention, reduce inertia, and consequently promote sustainable behaviors. We propose that humorous signs can not only boost sustainability intention (Studies 2 and 3) but also enhance actual sustainable behavior (Study 1) and improve attentional focus (Study 4). More specially, Study 1, conducted in two parks, showed that humorous signs increased real recycling behavior. Studies 2 and 3, using experiments, found that humorous signs improved tourists’ intentions to recycle, save water, and conserve energy in a hotel setting, identifying inertia as a mediator. Study 4, using eye-tracking, confirmed that humorous signs drew more attention from participants, while Study 5 ruled out the possibility that mere humor explained the results. This research advances understanding of how humorous signs reduce inertia and enhance sustainable behavior through the lens of status quo bias theory and broadens the application of nudging to hedonistic contexts such as tourism. Practically, it shows that humorous signs are low-cost, high-impact tools to promote recycling, water conservation, and energy-saving in leisure settings.