Attentional bias and cigarette pollution

To reduce cigarette littering, researchers placed ashtrays in bars, locations which are commonly frequented by smokers. The idea behind this intervention is that these ashtrays would act as a visual reminder of social norms (in this case, not littering). They further tested the effects of visual cues by using bright yellow ashtrays half of the time. The results showed that these visual cues were effective. There was a 27.9% decrease in the number of cigarettes on the ground. However, there was no difference between the normal ashtrays and the bright yellow ashtrays.