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See Also
See Again
© Shutterstock
0 / 30 Fotos
Introducing nudge theory
- If you’re anything like most people, "nudge theory" is one of those terms you might have heard thrown about, without being sure what it means.
© Shutterstock
1 / 30 Fotos
Demystifying nudge theory
- A concept in behavioral economics, political theory, and behavioral sciences, nudge theory sounds complex, but overall it's not that difficult to understand.
© Shutterstock
2 / 30 Fotos
Back to basics
- The basic concept of nudge theory is that it's possible to influence the decision-making of a group or individual by changing their environment in some way.
© Shutterstock
3 / 30 Fotos
An example
- For example, if you want to encourage people to eat more healthy, you might place fruit at the store checkout, rather than candy.
© Shutterstock
4 / 30 Fotos
Another example
- Or if you want to encourage cross-functional integration at work, you might get rid of separate lunch rooms and have all teams sit and eat together.
© Shutterstock
5 / 30 Fotos
The importance of autonomy
- An important feature of nudge theory is that the people who are subjected to it remain autonomous. That is to say, they still have control over the decision itself.
© Shutterstock
6 / 30 Fotos
What nudging is not
- To that end, nudging is distinct from legislation and education, and governments often consider it to be a viable behavior-changing alternative to coercion.
© Shutterstock
7 / 30 Fotos
Not without its issues
- That said, nudging is controversial for a number of reasons. But before we get to the controversy, let’s look at some examples of nudge theory in practice.
© Shutterstock
8 / 30 Fotos
Nudging in government
- While it is not always clear in what context governments employ nudging techniques, it is widely accepted that they do.
© Shutterstock
9 / 30 Fotos
In the US
- In 2008, the United States appointed Cass Sunstein, who is one of the developers of the theory, as administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
© Shutterstock
10 / 30 Fotos
In Australia and the UK
- In 2012, the government of New South Wales established a Nudge Unit, and in 2020, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson used nudging to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
© Shutterstock
11 / 30 Fotos
Nudging in business
- Corporations, too, are known to apply nudge theory in their course of business. It is often applied, for example, in health and safety, with the primary goal of achieving a "zero accident culture."
© Shutterstock
12 / 30 Fotos
Silicon Valley
- For some time now, top Silicon Valley companies have applied nudge theory to increase the overall satisfaction levels and productivity of their employees.
© Shutterstock
13 / 30 Fotos
Nudge management
- More recently, companies have started looking into using "nudge management" to improve the productivity of their white-collar workers.
© Shutterstock
14 / 30 Fotos
Nudging in health care
- Also recently, nudge theory has made its way into the health care space, with leaders using it to help health care professionals make more deliberate decisions in certain areas.
© Shutterstock
15 / 30 Fotos
Hand hygiene
- For example, nudging has been used to improve hand hygiene among medical professionals, so as to reduce the number of health care-associated infections.
© Shutterstock
16 / 30 Fotos
Fluid administration
- It has also been used to influence decisions about fluid administration, in a bid to reduce the well-documented complications of fluid overload.
© Shutterstock
17 / 30 Fotos
Nudging in fundraising
- Finally, nudging can and has been used in the context of fundraising. There are certain changes fundraisers can make that will help increase donor contributions.
© Shutterstock
18 / 30 Fotos
Making it easy
- For example, they can make donating easy, by creating settings that automatically enroll a donor to make continuous contributions.
© Shutterstock
19 / 30 Fotos
Making it enticing
- They can also make it enticing, for example by offering potential donors rewards, personalized messages, or focusing on their personal interests.
© Shutterstock
20 / 30 Fotos
The ethics of it all
- The use of nudging to increase donor contributions has come under fire from ethicists, who insist that donor autonomy must be taken into account when designing a campaign.
© Shutterstock
21 / 30 Fotos
Encroaching on autonomy
- There are some critics who argue that the power behind certain messaging and potentially intrusive prompting is manipulative of a potential donor’s autonomy.
© Shutterstock
22 / 30 Fotos
Generally talking issue
- In fact, there are some ethicists who have a problem with nudging in general. They argue that it diminishes autonomy, threatens dignity, violates liberties, and reduces welfare.
© Shutterstock
23 / 30 Fotos
The response
- Cass Sunstein has responded to these arguments by saying, among other things, that a certain level of choice architecture is inevitable in our society.
© Getty Images
24 / 30 Fotos
Further criticism
- Another long-standing critique of nudge theory is that there is not enough evidence to support its effectiveness.
© Shutterstock
25 / 30 Fotos
The status in 2021
- In order to clear this up once and for all, researchers conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis at the end of 2021, with the aim of determining whether nudging really works.
© Shutterstock
26 / 30 Fotos
The status in 2021
- This meta-analysis showed confidently that nudging is effective. Great news for the governments and businesses who have been employing its techniques. Since then, however, new research has shown that the meta-analysis was subject to considerable publication bias, and that nudging might have no effect at all.
© Shutterstock
27 / 30 Fotos
The reality
- Notwithstanding the uncertain effectiveness of nudging, it seems likely that it should be used in conjunction with other behavioral-influencing approaches.
© Shutterstock
28 / 30 Fotos
The reality
- After all, human decision-making and behavior is fantastically complex, and as cognitive psychologist Magda Osman puts it, "How can one single approach ever hope to change it?" Sources: (BBC) (Expert Program Management) (Imperial College London) See also: The experience economy post-COVID
© Shutterstock
29 / 30 Fotos
© Shutterstock
0 / 30 Fotos
Introducing nudge theory
- If you’re anything like most people, "nudge theory" is one of those terms you might have heard thrown about, without being sure what it means.
© Shutterstock
1 / 30 Fotos
Demystifying nudge theory
- A concept in behavioral economics, political theory, and behavioral sciences, nudge theory sounds complex, but overall it's not that difficult to understand.
© Shutterstock
2 / 30 Fotos
Back to basics
- The basic concept of nudge theory is that it's possible to influence the decision-making of a group or individual by changing their environment in some way.
© Shutterstock
3 / 30 Fotos
An example
- For example, if you want to encourage people to eat more healthy, you might place fruit at the store checkout, rather than candy.
© Shutterstock
4 / 30 Fotos
Another example
- Or if you want to encourage cross-functional integration at work, you might get rid of separate lunch rooms and have all teams sit and eat together.
© Shutterstock
5 / 30 Fotos
The importance of autonomy
- An important feature of nudge theory is that the people who are subjected to it remain autonomous. That is to say, they still have control over the decision itself.
© Shutterstock
6 / 30 Fotos
What nudging is not
- To that end, nudging is distinct from legislation and education, and governments often consider it to be a viable behavior-changing alternative to coercion.
© Shutterstock
7 / 30 Fotos
Not without its issues
- That said, nudging is controversial for a number of reasons. But before we get to the controversy, let’s look at some examples of nudge theory in practice.
© Shutterstock
8 / 30 Fotos
Nudging in government
- While it is not always clear in what context governments employ nudging techniques, it is widely accepted that they do.
© Shutterstock
9 / 30 Fotos
In the US
- In 2008, the United States appointed Cass Sunstein, who is one of the developers of the theory, as administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
© Shutterstock
10 / 30 Fotos
In Australia and the UK
- In 2012, the government of New South Wales established a Nudge Unit, and in 2020, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson used nudging to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
© Shutterstock
11 / 30 Fotos
Nudging in business
- Corporations, too, are known to apply nudge theory in their course of business. It is often applied, for example, in health and safety, with the primary goal of achieving a "zero accident culture."
© Shutterstock
12 / 30 Fotos
Silicon Valley
- For some time now, top Silicon Valley companies have applied nudge theory to increase the overall satisfaction levels and productivity of their employees.
© Shutterstock
13 / 30 Fotos
Nudge management
- More recently, companies have started looking into using "nudge management" to improve the productivity of their white-collar workers.
© Shutterstock
14 / 30 Fotos
Nudging in health care
- Also recently, nudge theory has made its way into the health care space, with leaders using it to help health care professionals make more deliberate decisions in certain areas.
© Shutterstock
15 / 30 Fotos
Hand hygiene
- For example, nudging has been used to improve hand hygiene among medical professionals, so as to reduce the number of health care-associated infections.
© Shutterstock
16 / 30 Fotos
Fluid administration
- It has also been used to influence decisions about fluid administration, in a bid to reduce the well-documented complications of fluid overload.
© Shutterstock
17 / 30 Fotos
Nudging in fundraising
- Finally, nudging can and has been used in the context of fundraising. There are certain changes fundraisers can make that will help increase donor contributions.
© Shutterstock
18 / 30 Fotos
Making it easy
- For example, they can make donating easy, by creating settings that automatically enroll a donor to make continuous contributions.
© Shutterstock
19 / 30 Fotos
Making it enticing
- They can also make it enticing, for example by offering potential donors rewards, personalized messages, or focusing on their personal interests.
© Shutterstock
20 / 30 Fotos
The ethics of it all
- The use of nudging to increase donor contributions has come under fire from ethicists, who insist that donor autonomy must be taken into account when designing a campaign.
© Shutterstock
21 / 30 Fotos
Encroaching on autonomy
- There are some critics who argue that the power behind certain messaging and potentially intrusive prompting is manipulative of a potential donor’s autonomy.
© Shutterstock
22 / 30 Fotos
Generally talking issue
- In fact, there are some ethicists who have a problem with nudging in general. They argue that it diminishes autonomy, threatens dignity, violates liberties, and reduces welfare.
© Shutterstock
23 / 30 Fotos
The response
- Cass Sunstein has responded to these arguments by saying, among other things, that a certain level of choice architecture is inevitable in our society.
© Getty Images
24 / 30 Fotos
Further criticism
- Another long-standing critique of nudge theory is that there is not enough evidence to support its effectiveness.
© Shutterstock
25 / 30 Fotos
The status in 2021
- In order to clear this up once and for all, researchers conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis at the end of 2021, with the aim of determining whether nudging really works.
© Shutterstock
26 / 30 Fotos
The status in 2021
- This meta-analysis showed confidently that nudging is effective. Great news for the governments and businesses who have been employing its techniques. Since then, however, new research has shown that the meta-analysis was subject to considerable publication bias, and that nudging might have no effect at all.
© Shutterstock
27 / 30 Fotos
The reality
- Notwithstanding the uncertain effectiveness of nudging, it seems likely that it should be used in conjunction with other behavioral-influencing approaches.
© Shutterstock
28 / 30 Fotos
The reality
- After all, human decision-making and behavior is fantastically complex, and as cognitive psychologist Magda Osman puts it, "How can one single approach ever hope to change it?" Sources: (BBC) (Expert Program Management) (Imperial College London) See also: The experience economy post-COVID
© Shutterstock
29 / 30 Fotos
A deep dive into nudge theory
Take a closer look at this elusive phenomenon
© Shutterstock
Since nudge theory was popularized in 2008 by scholars Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, it has pervaded many areas of our lives. It has applications in government, business, health care, and even fundraising.
As a concept, nudge theory is not too tricky to grasp. The basic idea is that by shaping the environment of an individual or group, it is possible to influence their decision-making.
Nudge theory has many applications in our daily lives, but it is not without its problems. Indeed, there are critics who question its morality, in addition to its effectiveness.
Intrigued? Check out this gallery to learn all about nudge theory.
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