Why a nudge is not enough: A social identity critique of governance by stealth

Abstract

Policy makers can use four different modes of governance: 'hierarchy', 'markets', 'networks' and 'persuasion'. In this article, it is argued that 'nudging' represents a distinct (fifth) mode of governance. The effectiveness of nudging as a means of bringing about lasting behaviour change is questioned and it is argued that evidence for its success ignores the facts that many successful nudges are not in fact nudges; that there are instances when nudges backfire; and that there may be ethical concerns associated with nudges. Instead, and in contrast to nudging, behaviour change is more likely to be enduring where it involves social identity change and norm internalisation. The article concludes by urging public policy scholars to engage with the social identity literature on 'social influence', and the idea that those promoting lasting behaviour change need to engage with people not as individual cognitive misers, but as members of groups whose norms they internalise and enact.

Global Climate Change: A Social Identity Perspective on Informational and Structural Interventions

“…The challenge for individualistic interventions is that people could feel disrespected (or even manipulated) by policymakers and their policies (Mols, Haslam, Jetten, & Steffens, 2015 ). This means that social policies will need to be structured to maximise support within relevant constituencies.…”

“…Furthermore, the meaning of policy packages varies as a function of salient identities and their relevance to in-group norms (Mols et al, 2015 ). For instance, Unsworth and Fielding ( 2014 ) manipulated political identity salience among liberals and conservatives, and then measured their beliefs about climate change and support of government policies to mitigate climate change.…”

Security information sharing via Twitter: 'Heartbleed' as a case study

“…One area of interest in this area of risk and uncertainty management focuses on how to improve communication strategies to reach as many potentially affected individuals as possible. Identifying different groups' responses to crises can reveal normative behaviours within each group and targeting these groups separately can lead to more persuasive appeals for behaviour change (Mols et al, 2014). The current results suggest that in the absence of a voice of authority, it is important to recognise which other groups may lead, shape and influence the debate.…”

“…Some of these questions may already be answered based on existing research. In terms of consequences, the views and behaviours that people will adopt are likely to be in line with the normative beliefs of their social groups (see McNeill and Briggs, 2014;Mols et al, 2014). Such groups (e.g., parents, health professionals or alternative-health advocates) share a common identity and draw on the advice of each other because of within-group trust and willingness to adhere to group norms -also known as 'communities of influence' (Zhou, 2011; see further work on 'users of influence' by Räbiger and Spiliopoulou, 2015).…”

Green Nudges: Do They Work? Are They Ethical?

“…Evidently, the slogan targets people's (especially young men's) sense of community pride, framing littering as a kind of behavior 'true' Texans find unacceptable (see also Grasmick et al 1991). It seems that the effectiveness and sustainability of this particular nudge is largely due to its impact on people's self-understanding or social identity, making people internalize a specific social norm (Mols et al 2015).…”