Nudge
Der "libertäre Paternalismus" regt an, das Verhalten von Menschen statt mit Verboten und Befehlen mittels sog. nudges, also kleiner Anstöße, bzw. Anschubser (port. cutucadas) in die jeweils gewünschte Richtung zu lenken.
- Nudge theory (or Nudge) is a concept in behavioral science, political theory and economics which argues that positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions to try to achieve non-forced compliance can influence the motives, incentives and decision making of groups and individuals, at least as effectively – if not more effectively - than direct instruction, legislation, or enforcement.
- Nudge Theory's most celebrated influences include the formation of a British Behavioural Insights Team, often called the ‘Nudge Unit’, in the British Cabinet Office, headed up by Dr David Halpern and US President Barack Obama's appointment of Cass R. Sunstein as administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. In Australia, the government of New South Wales established a Behavioural Insights community of practice.
Kritik
The "Nudge" idea has been criticised. Dr Tammy Boyce, from public health foundation The King's Fund, has said:
- We need to move away from short-term, politically motivated initiatives such as the 'nudging people' idea, which are not based on any good evidence and don't help people make long-term behaviour changes.
At the heart of nudge theory is the concept of nudge. This was originally defined by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein as:
- “A nudge, as we will use the term, is any aspect of the choice architecture that alters people’s behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any options or significantly changing their economic incentives. To count as a mere nudge, the intervention must be easy and cheap to avoid. Nudges are not mandates. Putting fruit at eye level counts as a nudge. Banning junk food does not.”
One of Nudges’ most frequently cited examples is the etching of the image of a housefly into the men’s room urinals at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, which is intended to ‘improve the aim’.
Notability
“Nudge,” as it is often referred, is usually credited to Richard Thaler a prominent professor of Behavioural Science and Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Thaler's role in developing the “Nudge Theory” is usually discussed in parallel with Daniel Kahneman, an American psychologist.
Nudge Theory rose to global prominence in 2008 with the release of the book Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness, by Thaler and legal scholar Cass R. Sunstein. The volume not only brought the discourse on Nudge theory to the wider public, but secured a significant following among contemporary US and UK political personalities as well as the private sector involved with public health and related fields. Nudge theory and similar policy frameworks have been criticized by some psychologists for failing to take into account the psychological determinants of the behaviors that they are trying to change, despite the ethical implications.
Most recently, the political machinery of both President Barack Obama in the United States and Prime Minister David Cameron in the UK have sought to employ Nudge Theory to advance their respective domestic policy goals. In both the UK and the Australian state of NSW there is a Behavioural Insights Team in the government.
Weblinks und Literatur
- Fischer, Mira; Lotz, Sebastian (2014). "Is Soft Paternalism Ethically Legitimate? - The Relevance of Psychological Processes for the Assessment of Nudge-Based Policies". Cologne Graduate School Working Paper Series (05-02). Retrieved 2014-05-30.
- Thaler, R. & C. Sunstein. (2008). Nudge. Penguin Books.
- Mintert, Julian: Paternalismus: Wissenschaftlich gelenkte Individuen, in: Novo Argumente