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Julie Cook Kitchener Sep 30, 2020 20:44 pm

Hi everyone,

Perhaps many of you are familiar with 'nudges', those positive, gentle actions that persuade people to engage in particular behaviours (e.g. setting healthy food at eye level in a cafeteria, so people are more likely to choose it over junk food). Nudging has increased in popularity over recent years but has also drawn some criticism for being manipulative and coercive. Two European researchers, Hertwig & Reijula, collaborated on a brief article in Behavioural Psychology where they suggest that self-nudging could be a way to alleviate those concerns. The idea is to empower people (or, as they call them, "citizen choice architects") to design their own decision environments and to choose if and how they want to nudge themselves. From customizing social media news feeds, to pushing unhealthy foods to the back of the cupboard, there are plenty of actions that people can take to nudge themselves in a direction that they choose. Intriguing, isn't it? To find out more about Hertwig & Reijula's concept and work, check out the article here