Tag Archives: Nudging

Tainted good

Posted on March 10, 2023 by koenfucius

(featured image via DALL·E) Making someone else better off without making any other person worse off, that can only be a good thing, right? Well, not quite, it seems. Was Robin Hood, the English folk hero, the noble bandit who … Continue reading →

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A nudger’s paradox

Posted on March 4, 2022 by koenfucius

(featured image: Alan Geraghty/Flickr – CC BY ND 2.0) Trying to influence people’s behaviour ethically can get complicated – but it doesn’t have to When Richard Thaler, one of the most famous behavioural scientists, was once asked how he would … Continue reading →

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A nudger’s unease

Posted on August 9, 2019 by koenfucius

(featured image: Andrew Barclay CC BY) Should different norms apply when it is charities doing the nudging? In an old Russian fable, a frog is sitting on the bank of the river, when a scorpion approaches, asking whether the frog … Continue reading →

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Green nudges, clever and not so clever

Posted on June 28, 2019 by koenfucius

(featured image credit: Colin Brown Photography) Behavioural science can do its bit in averting severe climate change, but it has to be done well   How will climate change affect you personally? This can be hard to tell. There is … Continue reading →

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How to stop acting as if more is better

Posted on June 29, 2018 by koenfucius

(featured image credit: drinks machine CC BY) Quality matters, we often say, but when we’re not paying attention, quantity tends to sneak in and get the upper hand Imagine that £2 buys you one of two options: either a nice … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavioural economics, Cognitive biases and fallacies, Health, Psychology, Society | Tagged | 1 Comment

Make it hard

Posted on July 21, 2017 by koenfucius

(featured image credit: Skitterphoto) Nudging is about ‘making it easy’, but sometimes difficult can be better We are very much creatures of habit. Unlike what neoclassical economists would have us believe, most of us are also generally not utility maximizers, … Continue reading →

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