I came across the term “Nudge” while I was working on my thesis in 2023. I was originally interested in learning more about how people make ( purchase ) decisions, and was drawn into the world of behavioural psychology. Nudge caught my curiosity, but I did not have the time to dig deeper until now!
All the page references refer to the book “Nudge: The Final Edition” by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein, 2021.
…
When was the last time you had to make a decision? Maybe you choose between products in the grocery store, maybe you had to choose a subscription plan or maybe vote for the European election? We have to make lots of choices every day – some smaller and some bigger, some better than others.
But people are not always best at making their own choices: we might not have all the necessary information to make decisions, we might not be paying full attention and might not have complete self-control ( page 7 ). We are easily affected by our emotions, we like to do what others do and might use rules of thumb ( pages 26-32 ) for easier decision-making etc – overall, we are not as rational as we would like to think most of the time.
Nudges are a way to help people make better decisions for themselves by designing better choice architecture to alter people’s behaviour ( page 8 ). Nudges are not, however, a way to manipulate or take away our freedom of choice, but rather a gentle push towards better choices This could mean making it easier to make the right choices ( page 151 ) with less bureaucracy, placement of products in store, using taxes to discourage smoking or setting sensible defaults for least resistance ( pages 108-112 ).
Let’s make an example of voting for the European election. We get lots of media coverage on the candidates ( some more than others ) and it might feel easy to vote for the first sensible seeming person from your preferred party, vote based on how your friends and family are voting or feel like not voting is the easiest option. But these “easy” choices are not often the best for us. Here is how nudges / human behaviour can be used to help with getting people to vote more:
– Finding a candidate: we can be encouraged to find our own candidates via easy voting aid applications for one. Seeing content about the election might prompt interest to search for more info as well and work as a reminder.
– Voting information: delivering information in advance via post about locations, schedules etc to eliminate the need to search for info, making it easier to plan your voting!
– Location and schedule / availability: easy location with parking space available, close to grocery store for weekly shopping etc. Flexible schedule also allows people to vote when it best suits them.
– Voting: having information in advance helps everything run smoothly ( such as not missing necessary ID etc ). The form should be self-explanatory to fill to avoid mistakes. The order in which the candidates are listed at the voting place might affect voting for those who are coming in undecided.
– Nudging people to do like others: if we know the majority of the people in our area / majority of our social group has already voted, we might be more prone to do like them! So reading news about polling percentages or posting about having voted on social media might push people to vote.
These are just a few views and takes on
what nudging can be and what it can be used for. Nudging can also be used for choosing a savings account, encouraging for sustainable innovations and making people consider their meat consumption. Where and how would you use nudging to promote better choices?
……
Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein 2021. Nudge: the final edition. New York: Penguin Books 2021.
I came across the term “Nudge” while I was working on my thesis in 2023. I was originally interested in learning more about how people make ( purchase ) decisions, and was drawn into the world of behavioural psychology. Nudge caught my curiosity, but I did not have the time to dig deeper until now!
All the page references refer to the book “Nudge: The Final Edition” by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein, 2021.
…
When was the last time you had to make a decision? Maybe you choose between products in the grocery store, maybe you had to choose a subscription plan or maybe vote for the European election? We have to make lots of choices every day – some smaller and some bigger, some better than others.
But people are not always best at making their own choices: we might not have all the necessary information to make decisions, we might not be paying full attention and might not have complete self-control ( page 7 ). We are easily affected by our emotions, we like to do what others do and might use rules of thumb ( pages 26-32 ) for easier decision-making etc – overall, we are not as rational as we would like to think most of the time.
Nudges are a way to help people make better decisions for themselves by designing better choice architecture to alter people’s behaviour ( page 8 ). Nudges are not, however, a way to manipulate or take away our freedom of choice, but rather a gentle push towards better choices and make decision making easier. This could mean making it easier to make the right choices ( page 151 ) with less bureaucracy, placement of products in store, using taxes to discourage smoking or setting sensible defaults for least resistance ( pages 108-112 ).
Let’s make an example of voting for the European election. We get lots of media coverage on the candidates ( some more than others ) and it might feel easy to vote for the first sensible seeming person from your preferred party, vote based on how your friends and family are voting or feel like not voting is the easiest option. But these “easy” choices are not often the best for us. Here is how nudges / human behaviour can be used to help with getting people to vote more:
– Finding a candidate: we can be encouraged to find our own candidates via easy voting aid applications for one. Seeing content about the election might prompt interest to search for more info as well and work as a reminder.
– Voting information: delivering information in advance via post about locations, schedules etc to eliminate the need to search for info, making it easier to plan your voting!
– Location and schedule / availability: easy location with parking space available, close to grocery store for weekly shopping etc. Flexible schedule also allows people to vote when it best suits them.
– Voting: having information in advance helps everything run smoothly ( such as not missing necessary ID etc ). The form should be self-explanatory to fill to avoid mistakes. The order in which the candidates are listed at the voting place might affect voting for those who are coming in undecided.
– Nudging people to do like others: if we know the majority of the people in our area / majority of our social group has already voted, we might be more prone to do like them! So reading news about polling percentages or posting about having voted on social media might push people to vote.
These are just a few views and takes on
what nudging can be and what it can be used for. Nudging can also be used for choosing a savings account, encouraging for sustainable innovations and making people consider their meat consumption. Where and how would you use nudging to promote better choices?
……
Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein 2021. Nudge: the final edition. New York: Penguin Books 2021.