In the field of behavioral sciences, experts use a method that modifies or influences people's behavior or the way they make decisions. This method is based on the "Nudge Theory" by American economist Richard Thaler who said in the late 2000s that people are influenced by certain biases, like emotions, memories, opinions, and environment.
For instance, a company cafeteria would deliberately put the healthiest food they have at the top of the menu to encourage customers to buy those foods without taking away their freedom to choose. Now, this theory is attracting many scientists and public authorities.
The Nudge Theory
In 2010, the UK government was introduced to the behavioral sciences via the "Nudge Unit" formerly called the Behavioral Insights Team that was formed within the Cabinet Office. The team is tasked to formulate effective policies based on the nudge theory, which uses suggestions and positive reinforcement to change people's behavior.
According to the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), nudge theory argues that it is more effective to encourage change in people's behavior using positive choices rather than restricting unwanted behavior using punishment.
"Putting fruit at eye level counts as a nudge. Banning junk food does not," UKRI quoted authors of the nudge theory Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler.
If applied in making policies, it would be advisable to use taxation and subsidies to change prices when trying to reduce people's energy consumption because it could affect available price options and will therefore influence behavior. Meanwhile, in the behavior approach, the theory focuses on the way choices are presented.
The team said that there are many low-cost ways to improve policy-making so governments can save money. For example, they could improve the letters they sent out to remind people to pay their taxes by saying most people have already paid. In that way, people will be influenced to increase payments by an estimated 5%.
Meta-Analysis Showed Nudges Are Effective
Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) conducted a meta-analysis to demonstrate the effectiveness of nudges and identify areas in which it is most relevant, Phys.org reported. They were able to collect 200 scientific articles that were published in the last 15 years, which demonstrated 450 nudge strategies.
They categorized the nudges in this scientific literature into three groups, namely information, structure, and assistance. The objective of the first set is to inform individuals to make certain choices, such as choosing the Nutri-score in food labels. Meanwhile, the second set deals with the structure of an environment, such as in the cafeteria. Lastly, the third set involves a form of commitment.
Researchers concluded that all three sets are effective, but the techniques in the second set are the most effective. They explained that nudges work best in the area of food. Therefore, it is important that the overall quality of the study increases because of how nudges could affect daily decision-making tasks.
The study, titled "The Effectiveness of Nudging: A Meta-Analysis of Choice Architecture Interventions Across Behavioral Domains" published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), aims to become a reference document for policymakers who are planning to implement new practices.
The team concludes that it should be wisely used within the democratic and transparent processes. Other areas where nudge theory is applied are economics, social psychology, political science, and business management.
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