And How Would That Make You Feel? How People Expect Nudges to Influence Their Sense of Autonomy.

Jonas Wachner,Marieke A Adriaanse,Denise T D De Ridder

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.607894

Abstract

ObjectiveWhile nudges are increasingly utilized in public policy settings, their potential threat to autonomous choice is the topic of heated debate. Regardless of the actual effects of nudges on autonomy, the mere perception of nudges as autonomy threatening by the general public or policy makers could negatively influence nudge acceptability. The present online studies examined how people expect (different) nudges to affect their perception of autonomy.MethodsIn the first study (N = 455), participants were presented with a hypothetical choice that employed either a default nudge, direct persuasion, or no persuasion, to steer to the desired choice. The presented influence technique was explained before participants reported their expected autonomy, as well as their expected choice satisfaction. Study 2 (N = 601) involved a replication of Study 1 with an additional social norm nudge condition. In Study 3 (N = 750), the explanation of how choice had been influenced was omitted.ResultsWhile participants expected the default nudge to violate autonomy (Study 1), they had no such expectations for social norm nudges (Study 2). Omitting the explanation that most people are unaware of nudges influencing their choice, reduced the negative impact of nudges on expected autonomy (Study 3).ConclusionEffects of nudges on expectations of autonomy differ by type of nudge. Negative expectations are primarily driven by the explanation that decision makers are often unaware of nudges.

Highlights

In the past decade, nudging, generally defined as the promotion of one choice without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives (Thaler and Sunstein, 2008), has found its way into public policy applications
Maybe more so than how participants will feel about their autonomy, will play an important role in people’s acceptance and judgment of nudges used in public policy
Study 1 found that participants who were exposed to a default nudge in a fictitious scenario experienced more pressure, and expected to experience less autonomy and less choice satisfaction

Summary

Introduction

In the past decade, nudging, generally defined as the promotion of one choice without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives (Thaler and Sunstein, 2008), has found its way into public policy applications. One key point of debate is nudges’ alleged negative impact on the decision maker’s autonomy (Bovens, 2009; House of Lords, Science, and Technology Select Committee, 2011; Hansen and Jespersen, 2013). Regardless of whether nudges harm autonomy, merely perceiving an attempt to change one’s decision as autonomy threatening is shown to be related to negative outcomes such as worse attitude toward the promoted issue (Pavey and Sparks, 2009), lowered autonomous motivation (Pavey and Sparks, 2009), and lowered perceived usefulness of the promoted option (Walter and Lopez, 2008). Findings from this study will give insights into how threatening people experience different kinds of nudges to be to their autonomy, decision competence and choice satisfaction, and how changes to their understanding of what a nudge is can alter the severity of the perceived threat

Methods

Results

Conclusion