And How Would That Make You Feel? How People Expect Nudges to Influence Their Sense of Autonomy

Abstract

ObjectiveWhile nudges are increasingly utilized in public policy settings, their potential threat to autonomous choice is the topic of heated debate. Regardless of the actual effects of nudges on autonomy, the mere perception of nudges as autonomy threatening by the general public or policy makers could negatively influence nudge acceptability. The present online studies examined how people expect (different) nudges to affect their perception of autonomy.MethodsIn the first study (N = 455), participants were presented with a hypothetical choice that employed either a default nudge, direct persuasion, or no persuasion, to steer to the desired choice. The presented influence technique was explained before participants reported their expected autonomy, as well as their expected choice satisfaction. Study 2 (N = 601) involved a replication of Study 1 with an additional social norm nudge condition. In Study 3 (N = 750), the explanation of how choice had been influenced was omitted.ResultsWhile participants expected the default nudge to violate autonomy (Study 1), they had no such expectations for social norm nudges (Study 2). Omitting the explanation that most people are unaware of nudges influencing their choice, reduced the negative impact of nudges on expected autonomy (Study 3).ConclusionEffects of nudges on expectations of autonomy differ by type of nudge. Negative expectations are primarily driven by the explanation that decision makers are often unaware of nudges.

The effect of nudges on autonomy in hypothetical and real life settings

“…Overall, participants across all three conditions expected to feel quite autonomous and satisfied. Although the means were in the same direction as in our previous study [ 11 ], in the present study participants in the nudge conditions did not differ significantly on autonomy compared to the control condition. As hypothesized, participants who had been exposed to the default nudge, but not participants exposed to the social norm nudge, expected to be less satisfied with their choice compared to the control condition.…”

“…Based on findings of a previous study [ 11 ], we hypothesized participants in the default nudge condition, but not participants in the social norm nudge condition, to score lower on expected autonomy than participants in the control condition. We expected results for decision satisfaction to be similar to results for autonomy.…”

“…Given autonomy’s crucial role for physical and mental well-being [ 9 , 10 ], this would be concerning if proved correct. Indeed, a recent study found that participants expect nudges to harm their autonomy [ 11 ].…”

“…Although there clearly are philosophical and psychological reasons to better understand the effect of nudges on post-choice autonomy, few studies have empirically investigated this issue. In an earlier set of studies, we asked participants to read choice scenarios, including descriptions of nudges, and rate how autonomous they expected to feel if they would have made a decision in this scenario [ 11 ]. We found that people who were presented with a default nudge consistently expected to feel less autonomous compared to people who were not presented with a nudge, while those presented with a social norm nudge expected to feel similarly autonomous compared to a control condition.…”

“…In the present series of studies, we will investigate and compare people’s expectations about the effect of nudges on autonomy and nudges’ actual effect on autonomy. In Study 1, we aim to replicate our earlier findings regarding people’s expectations of autonomy upon being nudged [ 11 ], but we use a new nudge scenario that can also be employed in a subsequent study to investigate the experience of autonomy after actually being nudged. In Study 2, people will actually be nudged, with the nudge from the scenario in Study 1, to investigate how nudges affect experienced autonomy.…”