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Andy’s Quick Hits (147): Nudges Work In Changing People’s Behaviour
So what do you mean by “nudges”?
Richard Thaler is considered is one of the founding fathers of nudge theory in the behavioural sciences proposing nudges as the best method to modify people’s behaviour. Made popular by his book Nudge in 2008.
Nudges are environmental cues that help to modify people’s behaviour without limiting choice. For example if a healthy choice is listed as the number one meal in a canteen, more people choose the healthy option.
And this does work?
Well, there has been lots of evidence to prove that various nudges do work but as always in science, scientists want to be really sure and make sure this is not just a statistical glitch or biased research. So a group of researchers around Stephanie Mertens at Geneva University analysed a whopping 450 strategies to see what the overall effect was across all these studies.
And the results?
As the title of this Quick Hit suggests nudging is effective but it seems more effective in certain areas — most effective when it comes to healthy eating. The effect was also seen in many other areas but wasn’t as strong and depends on the strategy (e.g. information, changing choice, or changing environment).
