Nudging with care: the risks and benefits of social information

Cristina Bicchieri and Eugen Dimant

Public Choice, 2022, vol. 191, issue 3, No 9, 443-464

Abstract: Abstract Nudges are popular types of interventions. Recent years have seen the rise of ‘norm-nudges’—nudges whose mechanism of action relies on social norms, eliciting or changing social expectations. Norm-nudges can be powerful interventions, but they can easily fail to be effective and can even backfire unless they are designed with care. We highlight important considerations when designing norm-nudges and discuss a general model of social behavior based on social expectations and conditional preferences. We present the results of several experiments wherein norm-nudging can backfire, and ways to avoid those negative outcomes.

Keywords: Norm-nudges; Nudge; Social information; Social norms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B41 D01 D9 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (40)

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Working Paper: Nudging with Care: The Risks and Benefits of Social Information (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:191:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s11127-019-00684-6

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DOI: 10.1007/s11127-019-00684-6

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