The role of nudges in decision making

Abstract

The impact of nudges on decision-making has been explored in many contexts of socio-economic interest, revealing the effectiveness in influencing people's behavior. The present study investigates experimentally the effect of three types of nudges in the decision making of people regarding health-related questions. A total of 189 participants were randomly assigned to one of three distinct treatments. Treatment A served as the control group, while treatments B and C manipulated the architecture of the choices, without modifying the actual choice. The findings corroborate the ability of nudges to dramatically yet non-intrusively and cheaply modify human behavior. Although our survey experiment does not precisely replicate real-world conditions, it offers insights for policymakers into the potential of nudges to enhance decision-making in practical scenarios.