The Power of Nudges: Insights on How to Influence Human Behavior

A “nudge” is any small change in how a choice is presented that can influence human behavior in a measurable and predictable way.

Nudges are a growing interest in psychology. They focus on how we can change people’s behaviors without the use of government mandates or economic incentives. Many organizations, including governments, businesses, schools, and nonprofits, are beginning to use nudges to influence people’s choices toward certain values and goals.

For example, one common illustration of a nudge is a cafeteria placing healthier foods at eye level and junk food in less visible places. This small change can encourage people to make healthier choices when it comes to their diet.

Nudges can come in many forms. Some are created by businesses to influence consumers, or governments to influence citizens, or people can also create nudges for themselves to change their own behavior.

Some nudges make helpful choices more automatic, while others create a moment of awareness that helps us reconsider what we’re doing. In this article, we distinguish between “mindless nudges” and “mindful nudges.”

Mindless Nudges

Mindless nudges are ways of changing human behavior without the person being conscious of it. These include subtle changes in how something is presented that can play a significant role in the choices we make. Often, we aren’t even aware of these subtle changes, let alone how they are influencing us.

• Default – One of the most common nudges is to make the desired behavior the “default” option. When people use a new product, service, or website, they are much more likely to keep the default settings rather than change them. It’s easier to keep the status quo. This is a powerful nudge many social media sites use to gather data from their consumers. When you sign up for many websites, you automatically agree to let your information be shared. Making organ donation the default option, with the choice to opt out, has also been shown to increase consent to organ donation.
• Framing – Another common nudge is to present the same situation from a different perspective, which is called “framing.” For example, research has shown that people are more motivated to make a decision if it is framed in terms of minimizing potential losses rather than maximizing potential gains. This is known in psychology as “loss aversion.” Presenting a choice in terms of what someone might lose or “miss out” on can be more effective at changing behavior than focusing on what they will gain.
• Environment – Anything in our environment can be a potential influence on our thoughts and behaviors. Studies have illustrated a wide range of examples, including how a picture of eyes on a wall can influence people to act more ethically and donate more to a charity (the “feeling of being watched” can be a powerful influencer on human behavior). Another study found that a man holding a guitar is seen as more attractive than a man who isn’t. These can all be considered little environmental “nudges” that influence our decision-making. (You can find other examples of these environmental influences here.)
• Anchoring – Anchoring is a common tendency for us to rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered when making decisions. For example, two groups of people were asked to estimate the population of a city in Australia. Before estimating, one group was asked whether they thought the population was greater or less than 50,000, while a second group was asked if it was greater or less than 10,000,000. The second group was more likely to give a higher estimate because they anchored their decision on the previous information. Businesses and stores sometimes make use of this “anchoring effect” by exposing consumers to higher-priced products before offering a much lower-priced products. This small effect can make products seem like a better deal at an unconscious level.
• Social Influence – Another big unconscious motivator of our choices is social influence. When we see other people behave a certain way, we tend to mimic their decisions. This is known in psychology as the “bandwagon effect.” At an unconscious level we think to ourselves, “Well, if a lot of other people are making this choice, then it must be a good choice and I’ll make it too.” In one case study, researchers made phone calls to try to increase voter participation. In one script, they emphasized that “voter turnout was expected to be low,” and in the other script they emphasized that “voter turnout was expected to be high.” When voters were told that participation was expected to be high, they were found to be more likely to participate themselves.

Mindful Nudges

Mindful nudges are ways of changing human behavior by making a person more conscious of the choice they are making. Many people make decisions without really thinking or second-guessing themselves. Mindful nudges are a way to make people “step back” and reevaluate exactly what type of choice they want to make.

• Boundaries – The more steps a behavior requires, the harder it becomes to act automatically. This simple principle can be very effective in curbing bad habits. By creating extra “boundaries” between ourselves and our bad choices, we make it increasingly more difficult to continue making those choices. For example, by putting a lock on your cabinet where you keep your junk food, you have to take that extra step to unlock your cabinet before you indulge yourself. This small boundary gives you more time and space to re-evaluate your decision to eat junk food before you commit to it. In the same way, having junk food readily available (such as a jar of M&M’s on your desk) will make you more likely to eat unhealthy food – because the easier a decision is, the less conscious you have to be to make it. Learn more about creating boundaries between you and your bad habits.
• Earmarking – Earmarking is a great way to become more conscious of how we spend and save our money. The basic idea is to separate money into different categories, like “Groceries,” “College,” “Leisure,” or “Savings.” When we assign money to a particular category, our minds are more committed to that money’s designated purpose. For example, in one study it was found that when individuals received payment in 2 envelopes (with one designated to “Savings”) they were much more likely to save that money than individuals who received payment in 1 envelope. By categorizing our budget and separating our money into categories, we can curb excessive consumption and save toward our goals.
• Partitioning – Partitioning builds off the same idea as earmarking. But instead it’s focused on dividing other forms of consumption into smaller portions, such as snacks, drinks, TV or internet. For example, people are likely to eat less junk food (such as cookies or popcorn) if it is sealed in multiple smaller containers rather than one large container. Eating one big bag of popcorn is only one decision, but eating 3 smaller bags of popcorn is 3 decisions. Research suggests that increasing the number of “decision points” can encourage more mindful consumption. You could apply a similar idea to limiting TV consumption by setting your TV to ask whether to turn off every 45 minutes or so.
• Alerts – Setting an alert on your phone or computer is another type of mindful nudge that can make us more conscious of our daily choices. For example, if you have trouble focusing at work or getting distracted, then you may want to set an alert on your computer every 2-3 hours. This alert can serve as a reminder that you need to complete a certain project, so you should probably get off of Facebook or Twitter. This is a very simple concept, but it’s a small way to inject more consciousness into our daily activities. An alert gives you an opportunity to reevaluate what you’re doing and decide whether to continue or switch to something else.
• Visible Progress – To stay more committed to a decision, it helps to see that we are making progress toward our goal. Without this feeling of progress, we become far more likely to ditch the decision and walk away. When people are waiting on the phone to speak to customer service, or standing in line at the DMV, they want to know that their commitment isn’t in vain. By creating “progress points” – such as estimated wait times or progress indicators – people can physically see that progress is being made. Many businesses and organizations are trying to find ways to create this feeling of progress so that they don’t lose potential clients or customers when they are waiting in queues. This “feeling of progress” is also why so many people can get addicted to mobile apps and games, because getting “immediate feedback” is more likely to keep us committed to our decisions. One simple way to accomplish this is to find ways to track your progress and measure it.

The possibilities for creating nudges are practically unlimited. You can design them around your own habits, surroundings, and personal associations. Even an ordinary object placed somewhere unusual can become a useful reminder if it means something to you. These examples are a starting point for discovering what works in your own life.

What’s a behavior that you’ve been wanting to change? Reflect on the nudges mentioned above and think about how you could adapt one to help.

Creating our own nudges takes creativity and experimentation. When applying nudges to your life, check whether they are helping you make the choices you want. It often helps to track your behavior and focus on implementing just one nudge at a time.