Nudging is the instrumentalization of small changes in the structure of a decision-making situation (so-called nudges) that lead to individuals changing their behaviour and decisions in a predictable way [1]. It is essential that no decision alternatives are prohibited or excluded and that the economic incentives of the alternatives are not significantly changed [1]. In addition, nudges should always change human behavior in such a way that the well-being of the individuals concerned is increased [1].The principle of nudging is based on findings from psychological and behavioral economics research, which has shown that in many situations people do not behave in accordance with the predictions of rational economic theories [2]. Instead, they often use so-called heuristics to make decisions. These are mental shortcuts or rules of thumb that enable faster decisions but are also susceptible to cognitive biases [2]. These cognitive biases can lead to suboptimal behavior and economically irrational decisions. Nudges exploit these heuristics and biases to systematically change behavior [1].A typical example of a nudge that exploits a cognitive bias is the so-called default nudge [1, 3]. It describes the situation in which a choice is preselected in a decision-making situation and people have to actively decide against this option so that it is not implemented. As people tend to prefer the status quo to change, they often opt for the preselected option [4]. This phenomenon can explain, for example, the enormous differences between organ donation rates in different countries [5]. In countries where citizens are registered as organ donors by default and have to actively decide against organ donation, the proportion of people who agree to organ donation is significantly higher than in countries where people have to actively decide in favor of organ donation and are not organ donors by default [5].As a growing proportion of our everyday lives and thus our decisions take place in digital environments (see e.g.digital economy), nudges are also increasingly being digitized and used, for example, on the internet or on mobile devices such as smartphones. Digital nudging relies in particular on adjustments to the user interface [6].
[1] R. Thaler and C. R. Sunstein, Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness. Penguin Publishing Group, 2009.
[2]A. Tversky and D. Kahneman, "Judgment under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases," Science, vol. 185, no. 4157, pp. 1124-1131, 1974.
[3]J. M. Jachimowicz, S. Duncan, E. U. Weber, and E. J. Johnson, "When and why defaults influence decisions: a meta-analysis of default effects," Behavioral Public Policy, vol. 3, no. 02, pp. 159-186, 2019.
[4]D. Kahneman, J. L. Knetsch, and R. H. Thaler, "Anomalies: The Endowment Effect, Loss Aversion, and Status Quo Bias," Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 193-206, Feb. 1991.
[5]E. J. Johnson and D. Goldstein, "Do Defaults Save Lives?," Science, vol. 302, no. 5649, pp. 1338-1339, 2003.
[6]M. Weinmann, C. Schneider, and J. vom Brocke, "Digital Nudging," Business and Information Systems Engineering, vol. 58, no. 6, pp. 433-436, 2016.
Source: Bavarian Research Institute for Digital Transformation, 2025
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