Book Recommendation: Nudge
Similar message to my Fish Sticks post about people’s likelihood to do the right thing, if just given the right information….
WorldChanging book review:
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“Authored by two Univeristy of Chicago heavy-hitters, Economist Richard Thaler and Law Professor Cass Sunstein, Nudge explores the policy implications of behavioral economics, a field describing the irrationalities of human behavior. Taking findings from psychology (e.g. people procrastinate; they’re averse to losing money), Thaler and Sunstein propose policies to help us make the best decisions, in light of our irrational tendencies. In a classic example, they suggest we design 401k plans to require “opting-out” rather than “opting-in,” thus encouraging people to save by default. […] |
Nudge goes beyond psychological research to suggest concrete ways to improve public policy in light of experimental findings.
Humans are bad at long-term planning: but what if cars came with stickers tallying the monthly cost of gas over the next five years: sticker shock might lead buyers to a more efficient car? Or what if we “nudged” people to conserve energy by showing how their energy use stacks up with that of neighbors?”
June 27th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
This speaks to the notion of people being both ‘awake’ and ‘aware’. If you are truly awake you will ask yourself many questions before making a decision. If you are truly aware then you will really think about the impact of what you are doing. Also, this speaks to the idea that a little change in just the right spot can have a large impact.
Being awake&aware combined with applying change in the strategic spot can make a _huge_ difference. Imagine if a lot of people functioned that way?