10 years of nudges

Been nudged lately? I bet you have. Choices are never neutral. And choice architects, like UXers, government policy-makers and parents, know it.

Making good choices can be difficult despite our best intentions

Nudges are a type of 'choice architecture' designed to help us do what’s good for us. You’ve heard of dark patterns in UX design? Well, nudge is all about light patterns.

“A choice architect has the responsibility for organizing the context

in which people make decisions”

– Thaler and Sunstein, Nudge

The need for nudges

Why do we need nudges? Because, despite our self-perception that we are rational decision makers, we’re actually pretty rubbish at it. We fall prey to common biases (such as anchoring, availability, status quo) and we aren’t good at comparing more than a handful of options. In short, we are not ‘Econs’, say Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein. We are humans.

Thaler and Sunstein’s book ‘Nudge’, published in 2008, is a classic. It’s pioneering work in the field now known as behavioural economics. This field has burgeoned since with the UK's Behavioural Insights team among its leaders. The book's authors, two University of Chicago academics, argue that responsible governments, corporations and other ‘choice architects’ can direct or 'nudge' people toward better behaviours that improve their lives in areas like health and finances. Ironically 'Nudge' was published just as the GFC hit – a perfect illustration of the consequences of poor choices if ever there was one.

Making and offering good choices

‘Freedom of choice’ may be a catch-cry for our politicians but we humans are easily bewildered by too many options. Try choosing among the 20 or more toothpaste types in your local supermarket! Thaler and Sunstein describe a US government case study where elderly and poor citizens had to choose from 50 or so different medical prescription plans by a certain date or risk being randomly allocated one that didn't meet their needs. Confusion reigned.

Some choices are just not on our radar. For example, news reports into superannuation in Australia find people largely unaware of what super they have or if it's right for them, preferring to set and forget rather than assess the competition. This ‘yeah whatever’ attitude and a status quo bias (“it’s too hard to change”) stops us optimising our finances. Yet most of us agree that saving for retirement is important. In Nudge, Thaler and Sunstein explore how to encourage people to save for retirement, such as default opt-ins to savings plans and showing how variations in contribution rates impact future retirement lifestyle.

"According to the ad copy 'Harrison Ford can help you pick a better pension'.

We are not sure which one of Ford's roles qualifies him to do this"

– Thaler and Sunstein, Nudge

Libertarian paternalism

What the authors term ‘libertarian paternalism’ preserves freedom of choice but helps people select what they would choose if they were perfect choosers. A question UXers could ask is: how can we present information and calls to action in our digital products that support people to choose better – for their goals?

The answer could well lie in this book - an entertaining read. Thaler and Sunstein have fun exploring their topic and human foibles. It’s a surprisingly enjoyable book with plenty of lessons for understanding people and the choices we all (imperfectly) make.