Thread by @DavidPerrott_

One of my favourite papers at the moment is @samulipo and #RalphHertwig's ~ Self-nudging and the citizen choice architect (2020).

Here are some of the ideas I found useful.

(Thread) 👇

How the authors define self-nudging:

"Self-nudging applies insights from behavioral science in a way that is practicable and cost-effective, but that sidesteps concerns about paternalism or manipulation."

The function of self-nudging:

"It is a tool for reducing failures of self-control and enhancing personal autonomy-"

The ultimate goals:
1) Enable citizens' efficient self-governance
2) Self-determined arbitration of conflicts between their mutually exclusive goals/preferences

From nudging to self-nudging:

"We propose that knowledge about nudges and how they work can be actively shared with a target audience, thereby enabling people to address what they perceive as failures of self-control."

What the self-nudger or self-nudge supporter needs to know:

"Self-nudges require awareness of a link between one’s behavior and the architecture of the environment, as well as knowledge of a procedural competence that can help to break (or modify) that link."

Examples of self-nudges in everyday life:

~ 'Keeping your daily medication next to your toothbrush'
~ 'Avoid temptation by keeping only small amounts of alcohol in the house'
~ 'Imposing a ‘waiting period’ by leaving your credit card at home when contemplating a major purchase.'

Examples of self-nudges in everyday life:

~ 'Use ‘mental accounting’ to save for future goals, transferring part of their salary to a separate bank account earmarked for a specific purpose.'

Categories of self-nudges:

1) Self-deployed reminders and prompts
2) Self-deployed framing
3) Self-deployed changes of access, defaults and friction
4) Self-deployed social comparison and social pressure

1) Self-deployed reminders and prompts:

"People stick reminders on the door so they cannot leave home without seeing them, write and update to-do lists and use digital calendars to remind themselves about friends’ birthdays."

2) Self-deployed framing:

'Imagine a person deciding between jogging in miserable weather or staying in bed for another hour.

- Frame the situation as a choice about the kind
of person she wants to be in the future: Someone who will maintain their fitness rain or shine.'

3) Self-deployed changes of access, defaults and friction:

"For example, rearranging the refrigerator and kitchen cupboards may be an effective way of controlling one’s cravings for sugar and promoting healthier food choices."

4) Self-deployed social comparison and social pressure:

'Find out how your alcohol consumption ranks against that of others and use this ‘rank’ framing in a note to yourself, thus motivating yourself through social comparisons and norms.'

Why self-nudging is so important in today's world:

"We suggest that many commercially constructed environments – such as the modern dietary or information environment – are being deliberately modified to hijack people’s desires and impulses."

Self-nudging avoids important ethical considerations:

1) Issues of individual autonomy
2) The reversibility–effectivity dilemma
3) More control over unintended side-effects
4) Conflicting preferences

Self-nudging, as part of the booster’s toolkit:

Boosts: "Interventions that target competencies rather than immediate behavior."

"Some biases in human cognition may be so robust that changing them by means of boosting would be short-lived or require too much time or effort."

A key limitation of both boosting and self-nudging setup:

"Self-nudges, like all boosts, require a sufficient level of motivation and cognitive capacity on the chooser’s part. If their cognitive resources are compromised or their motivation is low, they are unlikely to engage."

Opening up access to behavioural science knowledge:

"For citizens to become choice architects in their proximate choice environments, they must be aware of the existence of a behavioral problem and of how changes in the choice architecture can address it."

Conclusion:

'We believe that sharing behavioral insights will provide citizens with a means for taking back power, giving them more control over the design of their proximate choice environments – in other words, qualifying them as citizen choice architects.' 👏

You can access the paper here: bit.ly/2LIuMvs
And follow the author: @samulipo
I'd also love to hear your thoughts on self-nudging.

Lastly, I'm launching a programme on self-applied behavioural science (starting June 1). You can learn more here: bit.ly/2ZkYqyZ