The effect of nudges on autonomy in hypothetical and real life settings.

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

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0256124

Abstract

Nudges have repeatedly been found to be effective, however they are claimed to harm autonomy, and it has been found that laypeople expect this too. To test whether these expectations translate to actual harm to experienced autonomy, three online studies were conducted. The paradigm used in all studies was that participants were asked to voluntarily participate in a longer version of the questionnaire. This was either done in a hypothetical setting, where participants imagined they were asked this question, but did not answer it, and reported their expectations for autonomy; Or in an actual choice setting where participants answered the question and then reported their actual autonomy. The first study utilized the hypothetical setting and tried to replicate that laypeople expect nudges to harm autonomy with the current paradigm. A total of 451 participants were randomly assigned to either a control, a default nudge, or a social norm nudge condition. In the default nudge condition, the affirmative answer was pre-selected, and in the social norm nudge condition it was stated that most people answered affirmative. The results showed a trend for lower expected autonomy in nudge conditions, but did not find significant evidence. In Study 2, with a sample size of 454, the same design was used in an actual choice setting. Only the default nudge was found to be effective, and no difference in autonomy was found. In Study 3, Studies 1 and 2 were replicated. Explanation of the nudge was added as an independent variable and the social norm nudge condition was dropped, resulting in six conditions and 1322 participants. The results showed that participants indeed expected default nudges to harm their autonomy, but only if the nudge was explained. When actually nudged, no effect on autonomy was found, independent of the presence of an explanation.

Highlights

Nudges are subtle changes in the way options are presented, designed to influence decisions in a predictable way [1] and achieved by relying on well-known decision-making tendencies
We found that people who were presented with a default nudge consistently expected to feel less autonomous compared to people who were not presented with a nudge, while those presented with a social norm nudge expected to feel autonomous compared to a control condition
The means were in the same direction as in our previous study [11], in the present study participants in the nudge conditions did not differ significantly on autonomy

Summary

Introduction

Nudges are subtle changes in the way options are presented, designed to influence decisions in a predictable way [1] and achieved by relying on well-known decision-making tendencies. Rather than prohibiting unhealthy choices or making the unhealthy option more expensive, placing the desired option more prominently among less. The effect of nudges on autonomy desired options increases customers’ focus on the healthy options by making them more accessible [2]. Placing fruit items next to a cash register at a kiosk increases the number of healthy snacks sold [3]. Nudges are inexpensive and easy-to-implement interventions that change behaviors and decisions [6]. One prominent criticism is that nudges may harm people’s autonomy, as decision makers are unable to protect themselves against the influence of subtle nudges—influence of which they are often unaware [7, 8]. A recent study found that participants expect nudges to harm their autonomy [11]

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