(Originally published in Slovak at mindworx.net) Most of us probably believe that we are in control of our own decisions. We have our opinions, beliefs and principles, we know what we like and dislike and we always decide in accordance with our preferences. However, this is not entirely true. Our brain reacts to all kinds […]
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Nudges and Social Norms
When are nudges most effective? A study by Pelle Guldborg Hansen, founder of the Danish Nudging Network, a non-profit organisation in Copenhagen, suggests that nudges may work only if they are in line with social norms. They tested two potential “social nudges” in partnership with the local government, both using symbols to try to influence […]
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Nudges for a healthy lifestyle – Part II
In the article “Nudges for a healthy lifestyle – Part I”, we talked about the nudges created by governments around the world related to improving people´s lifestyles. If you wonder why governments care about lifestyles of their citizens, the reason is mainly money. Unhealthy diet, frequent consumption of addictive substances (mainly alcohol or tobacco), and lack […]
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Increasing charitable giving
How can we nudge people to donate to charities? There are many ways to do so, but we would like to share one in particular which is very simple and surprisingly powerful. It seems that peer effects are an effective tool to change people’s behaviour. We want to do what people like us are doing. […]
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“Scarcity”: a book review
Review of “Scarcity”
Review of a paper by Fryer, Levitt, List and Sadoff (2012) Improving the productivity of teachers has long been a priority in Public Policy. In recent years, there has been growing enthusiasm among policy makers for initiatives that tie teacher incentives to the achievement of their students. However, evidence as to the efficacy of such […]
Carrots or French fries? Fruit salad or a chocolate bar? These are the dilemmas that children face when choosing their meals in school lunchrooms. From convincing them that veggies will give them superpowers to ominous threats of what will happen to their bodies if they don’t eat healthy, there are few options left unexplored on how […]
Taking into account economic behavior in the environmental economic political process could change the impact of economic measures
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Interview with Prof. Peter Ayton
Peter Ayton is a Professor of Psychology, Associate Dean of Research and Deputy Dean of Social Sciences at City University of London. His research interests cover behavioural decision theory, risk, uncertainty, affect and well-being. In May, he visited Bocconi University as a part of seminar series co-organised by B.BIAS and BELSS (Bocconi Experimental Lab for Social Sciences) […]
Review of Hawton K., Bergen H., Simkin S., Dodd S., Pocock P., Bernal W., Gunnel D., Kapur N. (2013) Have you ever noticed that sometimes very small obstacles prevent you from completing a task or pursuing an objective? For instance, you might have thought about changing your phone provider since your offer was not convenient […]
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