On nudging and psychological reactance

David R. Just and Gnel Gabrielyan

Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 2025, vol. 47, issue 4, 1600-1620

Abstract: We test the notion that nudges can encourage healthier food choices while avoiding psychological reactance in a laboratory experiment. We attempt to replicate a well‐known nudge intended to reduce snack food consumption. Our study consists of four treatments, with the first two used for replication. In an additional condition, participants learn the purpose of the nudge and show signs of classical reactance. A final condition tests the commercial feasibility of the nudge, gauging participant interest in a nudged product. A majority prefer a nudged product, though the nudge fails in this transparent context, raising questions about the effectiveness of nudges in commercial contexts.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1002/aepp.70000

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:apecpp:v:47:y:2025:i:4:p:1600-1620

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy from John Wiley & Sons
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().