Warning: You Are About to Be Nudged

23 Pages Posted: 31 Mar 2014 Last revised: 19 Oct 2015

See all articles by George Loewenstein

George Loewenstein

Carnegie Mellon University - Department of Social and Decision Sciences

Cindy Bryce

University of Pittsburgh

David Hagmann

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST)

Sachin Rajpal

Independent

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: March 28, 2014

Abstract

The published paper is available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=2675567.

Defaults have been shown in prior research to impact important decisions, including how people complete advance directives (which specify the medical treatments they want to receive if they become unable to communicate their wishes). However, defaults and other nudges are often criticized for violating individual autonomy because those affected are typically unaware that they are being influenced. We report results from a study in which people were informed that they were being defaulted, either before they completed a hypothetical advance directive or immediately afterwards (and then were given an opportunity to revise their choices). Neither pre-informing nor post-informing respondents appreciably diminished the impact of the defaults.

Keywords: advance directives, nudges, defaults, behavioral economics

JEL Classification: C91, I1

Suggested Citation

Loewenstein, George F. and Bryce, Cindy and Hagmann, David and Rajpal, Sachin, Warning: You Are About to Be Nudged (March 28, 2014). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2417383 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2417383

George F. Loewenstein (Contact Author)

Carnegie Mellon University - Department of Social and Decision Sciences ( email )

Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890
United States
412-268-8787 (Phone)
412-268-6938 (Fax)

Cindy Bryce

University of Pittsburgh ( email )

135 N Bellefield Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
United States

David Hagmann

Hong Kong University of Science & Technology (HKUST) ( email )

Sachin Rajpal

Independent ( email )

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