Would you like some coffee with your sugar? A natural field experiment on the efficiency and acceptability of setting zero sugars as a default in coffee-vending machines

Daniel Priolo (), Isabelle Milhabet, Marilena Bertolino (), Tom Juille, Dorian Jullien, Guilhem Lecouteux, Ismaël Rafaï () and Pierre Thérouanne
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Daniel Priolo: EPSYLON - Dynamique des capacités humaines et des conduites de santé - UPVM - Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3
Isabelle Milhabet: LAPCOS - Laboratoire d'Anthropologie et de Psychologie Cliniques, Cognitives et Sociales - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur
Marilena Bertolino: LAPCOS - Laboratoire d'Anthropologie et de Psychologie Cliniques, Cognitives et Sociales - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur
Tom Juille: GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur
Ismaël Rafaï: GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur
Pierre Thérouanne: LAPCOS - Laboratoire d'Anthropologie et de Psychologie Cliniques, Cognitives et Sociales - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur

Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) from HAL

Abstract: This paper aims to replicate the effect of a nudge on behavior (efficiency) and acceptability in a natural field experiment. The nudge in our study consists in setting zero sugars as the default level of sugar in hot drinks–vending machines in a French university. We compared Campus A (default option set to 0 sugars) to Campus B (default option set to 3 sugars). We measured the efficiency of this default option by observing the level of sugar actually chosen by the participants, and we measured acceptability through a questionnaire. We hypothesized a high level of efficiency for the nudge and a higher acceptability in Campus A (default option set to 0 sugars) compared to Campus B (default option set to 3 sugars). Our results show that participants with the default option set to zero sugars (Campus A) consumed less sugar than those with the default option set to 3 sugars (Campus B). We also found a high level of acceptability on both campuses, though with no difference between Campus A (where the nudge was implemented) and Campus B (where a future nudge would be implemented). The discussion addresses the applied perspectives and ethical implications of these results.

Keywords: behavioral policy; nudge; efficiency; default option; acceptability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023-05-24
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-04160334v1
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Published in Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology, 2023, https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/rrsp20, 7 (1-2), pp.25-41. ⟨10.1080/23743603.2023.2214964⟩

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Working Paper: Would you like some coffee with your sugar? A natural field experiment on the efficiency and acceptability of setting zero sugars as a default in coffee-vending machines (2023)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-04160334

DOI: 10.1080/23743603.2023.2214964

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