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Nudging: To know 'what works' you need to know why it works

Author

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  • Pelle Guldborg Hansen

    (Roskilde University and iNudgeyou – The Applied Behavioural Science Group)

Abstract

Nudging is widely portrayed as a purely inductive approach to influencing human behavior using insights from the behavioral sciences to learn what works. However, as this paper argues, to understand 'what works', requires not only scientists, but also policy-makers as well as practitioners to understand what cognitive mechanisms brings behavior change about as well as under what conditions. This is argued by explicating how the concept of nudge itself identifies the main condition for the efficacy of nudging as well as calls for considering what specific mechanisms mediate a nudge and its behavioral effects. The practical implications are illustrated relative to the intuitively appealing policy application of nudging people into becoming organ donors by changing the default from an opt-in to an opt-out system; and in turn reveals why prominent scientists in the field believe this policy application to be a bad idea.

Suggested Citation

  • Pelle Guldborg Hansen, 2019. "Nudging: To know 'what works' you need to know why it works," Journal of Behavioral Economics for Policy, Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (SABE), vol. 3(S), pages 9-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:beh:jbepv1:v:3:y:2019:i:s:p:9-11
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    nudging; behavioural public policy; cognitive psychology; default options;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D90 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - General
    • Z18 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Public Policy
    • B49 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Economic Methodology - - - Other

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