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Published in Amar Rughani, Joanna Bircher, The Leadership Hike, 2020
In 2002 Kahneman and Smith won the Nobel Prize for Economics for their work on integrating learning from psychology into economics, which became the origin of ‘nudge theory’. Nudge theory is a way of understanding and influencing human thinking and behaviour to change behaviour by indirect encouragement and enablement. This academic work has dramatically affected thinking and methods for motivating and changing people, and runs contrary to traditional performance management and improvement models. Nudge theory advocates change in groups through indirect methods, rather than by direct enforcement or instruction.
Non-technical skills
Published in Tim Marsh, Louise Ward, Organised Wellbeing, 2018
We’ve mentioned this briefly above, and will consider it in more detail here. Nudge theory (see the book of that name by Sunstein and Thaler) can be defined as making a change to the environment that is clever, cheap, based on an understanding of psychology and physiology and is validated. Positive labelling is a nudge.
Chapter 11 No stone left unturned: the relevance of the neurosciences to infection prevention and control
Published in Paul Elliott, Julie Storr, Annette Jeanes, Barry Professor Cookson, Benedetta Professor Allegranzi, Marilyn ADJ Professor Cruickshank, Infection Prevention and Control, 2017
A recent RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) report7 reminds us that in order to be clear about the different approaches to behaviour change it is necessary to understand the two systems of the human brain, the controlled system and the automatic system. The former is concerned with thinking, goal seeking and deliberate actions, while the latter is more intuitive and instinctive. Appreciation of these two systems and attempts to exploit them is the basis for much of what is termed behavioural economics and nudge theory.8 Daniel Kahneman’s9 fascinating book provides many insights into how the two systems work and why we need to understand these in a behaviour change context. Nudge theory is an extension of behavioural economics and attempts to influence behaviour through developing social policies informed by neuroscience and psychology. Application of nudge theory has led to adjusting the language and simplifying messages used in formal communications to encourage people to comply, for example, with outstanding debts. There are many examples of this being successful, although it is not without its critics. Nudge theory is also being applied in the field of public health, where, for example, changes to the environment such as designing buildings with fewer lifts encourage people to expend energy walking up stairs. Building on these examples, to what extent can some of the not-so-mainstream neuroscience disciplines help influence behaviour by affecting the capability, opportunity and motivation of our target audience?
Testosterone and cortisol are more predictive of choice behavior than a social nudge in adult males on a simple gift give-get task
Published in Stress, 2021
Benjamin G. Serpell, Christian J. Cook
Nudge theory was pioneered in a book by Thaler and Sunstein, where they contend that the environment can be designed to “assist” in making a given, or more predictable, choice (type-1 nudge); or instigate behavior change (type-2 nudge) (Marchiori et al., 2017; Nudges that don't nudge, 2020). Therefore, nudging is not simply removing options (Kosters & Van der Heijden, 2015). However, nudge “success” is believed complex, and context dependent (Kosters & Van der Heijden, 2015; Nudges that don't nudge, 2020). Further, most nudge research focuses on outcome with little understanding of the underlying mechanisms (Kosters & Van der Heijden, 2015). It has been proposed that a focus on type-2 nudge would result in better understanding of type-1 nudge (Kosters & Van der Heijden, 2015). For example, philanthropic or altruistic behaviors are reported more likely when nudged to think about religion (Kosters & Van der Heijden, 2015). However, research into charitable giving has shown that nudge is only one mechanism that drives philanthropic behavior (Bekkers & Wiepking, 2011). Other work has argued that males are more likely to give romantic gifts to partners if they showed higher levels of testosterone (Nepomuceno et al., 2016), suggesting psychophysiological measures such as stress and androgenic hormones offer some insight into cognitive state and subsequent choice (Crewther et al., 2021; Lohani et al., 2019). This notion is supported by work which has shown that in simple hawk-dove challenge scenarios testosterone is highly moderating of behavior (Mehta et al., 2017).
Unintended consequences in traffic-light food labeling: A call for mixed methods in public health research
Published in Journal of American College Health, 2020
Michael W. Seward, Derek R. Soled
It can be difficult to initiate and sustain behavior change, especially with regards to healthy eating. Dense caloric foods can be found in supermarkets, restaurants, and college cafeterias. Moreover, these foods can be the cheapest options despite evidence that high fat, sodium, and sugar diets increase risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. And yet, prices of fruits and vegetables relative to processed foods continue to increase, and legislation attempting to limit production or sales of unhealthy food (eg, New York’s “Big Soda” tax) is frequently met with anger by a populace who demands complete corporate and consumer autonomy. Without infringing on individual choice, what can be done to encourage healthier eating? One possibility is through "nudges.” Nudge theory is a concept in behavioral science that describes how indirect suggestions and positive reinforcement can influence the behavior and decision-making of individuals.1 One application of nudge theory is a food labeling and choice architecture intervention at Harvard University dining halls completed during the 2014–2015 academic year. The main findings of this study have previously been published and are briefly summarized below.2 What stands out about the intervention, however, is that there were some unexpected outcomes that have not previously been addressed in the public health literature. In this viewpoint, we comment on these themes and use social theory to help explain their presence. We conclude by advocating the need for mixed methods methodology in future behavior change interventions.
Social Psychological Theories and Nudges as Tools for Health Promotion
Published in The American Journal of Bioethics, 2019
In this issue, Engelen (2019) provides an excellent overview of the use of nudges in health behavior change, including thoughtful criteria for evaluating the ethical use of nudges. Considering nudge theory from a social psychological perspective to supplement this work may be useful, as behavior change theories from the field of social psychology are vital to current research in public health (Klein et al. 2015) and form the basis for many interventions to improve health outcomes (National Cancer Institute 2005). Nudge theory, as described by Engelen, refers to the concept of implementing small changes or suggestions in the environment of an individual or group to encourage behavior change. We discuss here a few of the commonly used behavior change theories from social psychology and how nudges might complement or supersede interventions based upon these traditional theories in encouraging health-promoting behavior. We also consider some of the ethical issues raised by Engelen in light of the use of traditional behavioral change techniques.