Experiencing default nudges: autonomy, manipulation, and choice-satisfaction as judged by people themselves

Michaelsen, Patrik; Johansson, Lisa; Hedesström, Martin

doi:10.1017/bpp.2021.5

Cited by 21 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Although nudges' effectiveness was originally thought to depend upon the nudgee being oblivious to their use (bovens, 2009), our findings show that nudges can still affect behaviour even when implemented by the nudgee themselves. These results are in line with recent findings that show that openness about the goal and mechanisms of nudging does not negate its effectiveness (bruns et al, 2018;cheung et al, 2019;Kroese et al, 2016;Loewenstein et al, 2015;Michaelsen et al, 2020;Michaelsen et al, 2021a;Paunov et al, 2019a;Paunov et al, 2019b;steffel et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…It was even thought that resistance or reactance would result in counter effects (Brehm, 1989). Fortunately, empirical evidence is now accumulating that shows that transparency does not, in fact, hinder nudge effectiveness (Bang et al, 2020;Bruns et al, 2018;Cheung et al, 2019;Kroese et al, 2016;Loewenstein et al, 2015;Michaelsen et al, 2020;Michaelsen et al, 2021a;Steffel et al, 2016). Transparent nudges have even been found to be more effective than non-transparent nudges (e.g.…”

Section: The Ethics Of Nudgingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For a long time, however, it was thought that nudging 'works best in the dark' and that transparency would even hinder nudge effectiveness through compensatory reactance (bovens, 2009). However, empirical evidence suggests that this concern is not valid as transparency manipulations do not hamper, or even increase, the effectiveness of nudges (bruns et al, 2018;cheung et al, 2019;Kroese et al, 2016;Loewenstein et al, 2015;Michaelsen et al, 2020;Michaelsen et al, 2021a;Paunov et al, 2019a;Paunov et al, 2019b;Steffel et al, 2016). As making nudges transparent does not negatively impact effectiveness, and mitigates some of the ethical concerns surrounding the use of nudging (but see Wachner et al, 2020 for a study showing that ethical concerns related to nudging may not be supported by the evidence), it would seem that there are no reasons to avoid their use.…”

Section: Nudge Transparencymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…being unable to recognize the influence of the nudge used to be thought of as a key ingredient for nudges' effectiveness (bovens, 2009). However, more recent studies examining the effect of explaining the aim of the nudge show that such nudge transparency does not compromise, and can even enhance, its effectiveness (bruns et al, 2018;cheung et al, 2019;Kroese et al, 2016;Loewenstein et al, 2015;Michaelsen et al, 2020;Michaelsen et al, 2021a;Paunov et al, 2019a;Paunov et al, 2019b;steffel et al, 2016). Awareness of the nudge when self-nudging may thus not compromise its effectiveness.…”

Section: Traditional Nudging Vs Self-nudgingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nudging for impact: beyond the immediate effectiveness of nudge interventions promoting healthy food intake

Rookhuijzen

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Objective: To provide a micro-investigation into the long-term effects and process of implementation of a nudge intervention on food choice in sports canteens.Design: Multi-method case study.Setting: Eight products were added to the range of foods and drinks in two football canteens in the Netherlands for 3 and 15 weeks, serving as a baseline period. In the intervention period, these products were promoted with the use of salience, scarcity, availability and default nudges, for 26 and 16 weeks, respectively. Aside from the collection of sales and revenue data, reach, acceptability, adherence and applicability were measured using observations, questionnaires and interviews.Participants: Questionnaires were filled in by 70 and 59 visitors of the canteens. Four interviews were held with board members and canteen personnel.Results: Mixed results were obtained regarding the suitability of nudges to be used to promote healthy eating in sports clubs. Sales and revenue data did show positive trends, the intervention was seen as acceptable by all stakeholders and the intervention had a large reach. However, adherence to the intervention in both canteens and the effects of the nudges on the total consumption pattern were low. Factors were identified that promoted or hindered the intervention at an individual, interventional and organisational level. Conclusion:Nudges seem to be a valuable addition to other efforts to combat unhealthy eating. However, the extent of their impact as a single intervention tool is limited in the current foodabundant environment.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: The Ethics Of Nudgingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Nudge Transparencymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Traditional Nudging Vs Self-nudgingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Nudging for impact: beyond the immediate effectiveness of nudge interventions promoting healthy food intake

Rookhuijzen

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“…Rather, it yielded similar attitudes to those of the opt-in approach. Likewise, there is evidence that shows that default nudges may not be as manipulative and autonomy threatening as we feared (Michaelsen et al, 2021;Liu et al, 2022). Previous studies have shown that pro-self nudges are more popular than pro-social nudges (Hagman et al, 2015(Hagman et al, , 2022, while this result could vary depending on who does the nudging (Tannenbaum et al, 2017) and who is nudged (Jung and Mellers, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 84%

The effects of default nudges on promoting approval of welfare cuts: An exploration during COVID-19

2023

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The global COVID-19 pandemic has created significant financial and operational challenges for some businesses. As a result, temporary welfare benefit reduction may be a tough but future-oriented choice for both employers and employees. The present study examined whether default nudges can be used to promote employees’ approval of welfare-cutting policy while avoiding negative attitudes. Two online surveys were conducted during the first pandemic wave in China (February 2020). In the first study (N = 310), the participants were presented with a hypothetical welfare-cutting policy that used either an opt-in approach or an opt-out approach. We aimed to investigate how their approval and attitudes were different between two conditions. The results showed that the employees in the opt-out condition were more likely to accept the welfare-cutting policy than those in the opt-in condition, while participants’ attitudes toward the policy employing opt-out approach were as negative as that employing opt-in approach. Study 2 (N = 1,519) involved a replication of Study 1 with two additional improved opt-out approaches (opt-out education and opt-out transparency). Compared with the opt-in approach and standard opt-out approach, the opt-out education approach both increased policy support and improved attitudes toward the welfare-cutting policy. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

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The Effect of a Default Nudge on Experienced and Expected Autonomy: A Field Study on Food Donation

Weijers,

Wachner,

de Koning

2024

Behavioral Decision Making

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Default nudges—making the desired option the standard option—are often criticized for hampering autonomy. However, laboratory research suggests this expectation of autonomy loss is not reflected in nudgees' experienced autonomy. In this study, we investigated whether this finding translates to a real‐world setting by implementing a default nudge to increase food donations in the supermarket (Experiment 1). Upon entering the supermarket, customers were asked to donate a food item for charity and were handed a shopping cart/basket that was empty (control) or contained a food item meant for donation (default nudge). Donations were collected after checkout, and customers rated their experienced autonomy of their choice to donate. We replicated this study and added a vignette condition portraying the default nudge to measure expected autonomy for the same situation (Experiment 2). The results show the default nudge reduced participants' expected autonomy but not their experienced autonomy, shedding new light on the relation between nudging and autonomy. Furthermore, this novel form of the default nudge was found to be successful in increasing food donations in the supermarket, further expanding the field where this nudge has been successful.

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Experiencing default nudges: autonomy, manipulation, and choice-satisfaction as judged by people themselves

Cited by 21 publications

References 37 publications

Nudging for impact: beyond the immediate effectiveness of nudge interventions promoting healthy food intake

Nudging for impact: beyond the immediate effectiveness of nudge interventions promoting healthy food intake

The effects of default nudges on promoting approval of welfare cuts: An exploration during COVID-19

The Effect of a Default Nudge on Experienced and Expected Autonomy: A Field Study on Food Donation

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