I must have some Masochist tendencies picking books interesting enough but needing deep involved reading. Thank god I am no longer part of the 50 Book Challenge.
NUDGE is the FIRST BOOK I have read this year. Book 1 in 55 Days !.
FOR YOU READING THIS REVIEW WILL SUFFICE.
So this read cover book talks about IMPROVING DECISIONS ABOUT HEALTH , WEALTH AND HAPPINESS. And it claims that it can be easily MANIPULATED ( or is being done so ) by creating CHOICE ARCHITECTURE. Here the affected party is not being forced to something. They are not even penalized, threatened or motivated overtly. But subtle changes in the way choices are offered to them- makes all the difference. The cases in the book do demonstrate this effect. Soon you are nodding your head, it that was not obvious- well the truth is that it is not and hence quite a lot of programmes are not showing the desired impact.
NUDGE
One of the arguments made by THALER AND SUNSTEIN is that we are not economist trying to make essentially the right decision rationally. We are human being and are affected by lot many. Some of these are well known. Like the mood of the person and the setting of the place where the decision are being made. The impact of how the food is arranged in a self-help cafeteria could influence consumption, just like the off-take is impacted by what is near the checkout line. Nothing is neutral. It is working for or against the desired result. And these small actions which influence decisions ( non-violently or covertly) are the NUDGE that can be applied.
The findings presented in the books seem to be quite conclusive and it NUDGES you to believe what you are being told. Did they use the choice architecture in sequencing the chapters. Maybe they did.
They propose that in most of the developmental and security policy related work we must adapt a “libertarian paternalism” approach. Here the user or the respondent is given a choice to make. It’s their right and they are free to make any justified choice. But the entity that is asking them to make the choice- creates settings ‘NUDGES’ so that the respondent to the choice they really want him to make. Use of DEFAULT action is a big Nudge tool. Most people end up using it- as they find the inertia to evaluate.
And in the process they tell you to avoid making some mistakes that are but part of your reflective system. Like ANCHORING- relying heavily on something and evaluating everything in context to it. AVAILABILITY HEURISTIC– where if you can think of an example, you would presume that the event is more likely to happen. And here the impact on business and personal life could be huge. REPRESENTATIVENESS HEURISTIC– where you judge the probability or frequency of a statemet , situation or hypothesis taking into account how similar is it to the existing available data. STATUS QUO BIAS– and this is the biggest culprit. Continuing with a course of action or inaction. Allowing it to continue as it has been happening a.. Are you still getting the magazine you do not have time or interest to read, just because subscription is automatically renewed and you are yet to call the credit card company to stop renewal. ( Post reading this book- I finally went to reliance to get an long standing complain sorted out and stopped subscription too 3 magazines !). The last is well known and documented across studies and observations- HERD MENTALITY- getting influenced by action of others. Peer pressure is a classic example of it.
And that’s it. Read the book to understand the data and the examples.
NUDGE- by RICHARD H THALER and CASS R SUNSTEIN. INR 399. ( You can save these- as the synopsis is what it is ) 259 page + 10 pages of notes + 23 pages of BIBLIOGRAPHY + 12 pages INDEX. Go Read all that.
