Complicated user interface + no reward: "majority (68 per cent) of students chose the lazy option" == the majority of people will simply hit the back button in their browsers.
Complicated user interface + reward: "majority (59 per cent) chose the [...] 'busy' option" == the majority of people will use a complicated interface, if there is (social or other type of) reward.
Hmm.. I can think of one off the top of my head.
Give the user something to do or read while he is waiting for content to load
Google has made this a lab option in gmail called 'gmail preview' if shows a quick snapshot of your email while loading ... pretty cool
Ask a user for his e-mail address (newsletter subscription) while he is waiting for a download. This works well for me.