Title: Nudge: How Small Changes Can Significantly Influence People’s Choices – Effectiviology
Headings: Nudge: How Small Changes Can Significantly Influence People’s Choices
Nudge: How Small Changes Can Significantly Influence People’s Choices
Table of contents
Examples of nudges
Types of nudges
The psychology of nudging
Negative nudges
How to use nudges
How to respond to nudges
Ethics and criticisms of nudging
Summary and conclusions

Content: Nudges can get people to make choices that are better for the environment. For example, providing feedback to households about their and their neighbors’ electricity usage led people to reduce their energy consumption. In addition, research shows that the benefits of nudges can persist long after people encounter the nudge itself. For example, one study showed that the effects of nudges on people’s choice of a pension plan persisted for two decades after the original nudge has affected their decision, suggesting that simple nudges can benefit people’s lives in the long-term. Finally, another well-known example of nudging appears in the following story: “…small and apparently insignificant details can have major impacts on people’s behavior. A good rule of thumb is to assume that ‘everything matters.’ In many cases, the power of these small details comes from focusing the attention of users in a particular direction. A wonderful example of this principle comes from, of all places, the men’s rooms at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. There the authorities have etched the image of a black housefly into each urinal.