“The first of these insights is that when cues are available, people tend to conform to expected behaviors and implicit rules. This is why we’re less likely to order a stiff drink at dinner when the rest of the table ordered water. But donations are often kept private. Fortunately, good design could promote social norms of giving. One way is to present meaningful benchmarks to help people see how their actions measure up against others’. One study used donation boxes at an art gallery to demonstrate the power of norming. When the transparent boxes were seeded mostly with coins, follow-on patrons gave similar small donations. But when large bills lined the box, patrons responded accordingly by raising their own donation amounts. If charities offered people this type of visibility on their peers’ giving, perhaps more of the right cues could reach prospective donors.”