guest lec.

Question 1

Define the framing effect.

Answer 1

We respond differently to the same choice depending on how it is presented or framed.

Question 2

Define behavioural insights

Answer 2

• An evidence-based approach that uses insights from the behavioural sciences to understand the psychological and contextual factors that influence behaviours
• Effective solutions that often cost little to nothing to test or implement

Question 3

What is a choice architect; what do they do?

Answer 3

• A choice architect has the responsibility of organizing the context in which people make decisions
  → p.ex: a doctor who is listing options for treatment is a choice architect, the person who writes the names on a ballad is a choice architect
• Choice architecture, more generally, is the design, presentation and organization of choices
  → involves how we structure the presentation of options with the intention of influencing someone’s behaviour

Question 4

What are nudges?

Answer 4

• Subtle cues or prompts meant to influence behaviour in a predictable way without restricting one’s freedom to choose
  → we aren’t prohibiting any options, but you’re being nudged toward a certain behaviour
  → we nudge USING choice architecture

Question 5

Give an example of a nudge in school cafeterias.

Answer 5

• your friend is a director of school cafeterias and runs experiments in them to see if the way they’re organized change the kids behaviours
  → p.ex: desserts at the front of the line, desserts at the end, desserts in an entire other line
• simply by the change in placement in the food in a cafeteria, there was a big influence on what the kids consumed

Question 6

What are some ethical considerations of nudging?

Answer 6

• Nudging should…
  → Be transparent and never misleading
  → Be easy to opt out of
  → p.ex: when in uni, you’re immediately enrolled in insurance, but you can easily opt out
  → Have reason to believe that the behaviour being encouraged will improve the welfare of those being nudged (in their best interest)

Question 7

Contrasting a nudge, what is a sludge?

Answer 7

• Sludge is the opposite of a nudge
• It creates friction or imposes hurdles that separates people from something they intended to do
• Sludge is often designed to make picking an option harder, maybe asking for extra steps or actions that many people won’t do
• When faced with sludge, people are more likely to abandon their intentions, either staying in the status quo or picking a different option
  → p.ex: insurance companies would capitalize on sludge; they apply multiple obstacles to prevent you from getting what you want

Question 8

What is the EAST framework in behavioural insights?

Answer 8

• Desired behaviours should be Easy, Attractive, Social, and Timely
  1) Easy
• the desired behaviour needs to be simple, straightforward; we wanna reduce cognitive load and friction and get rid of any obstacles
  → p.ex: filling out a tax form is very complicated, to make this easy, the government could add clear instructions to ease it
  2) Attractive
• the desired behaviour needs to be more appealing, by adding incentives
  → p.ex: government wants to encourage people to use public transport, so they’ll use appealing artwork or a discount for being a regular commuter to make it more attractive
  3) Social
• peer influence to encourage desired behaviours; people often look to others to see what’s popular
  → p.ex: energy companies will send graphs comparing your energy usage to the average
  4) Timely
• the timing has to align with when people are most receptive to engage in the behaviour
  → p.ex: sending a reminder for a yearly checkup when they’re renewing their health insurance