The Book: Thaler and Sunstein Nudge Us Toward a New Way of Looking at Influence

Thaler and Sunstein begin with a broad definition, describing a nudge as “any factor that significantly alters the behavior of humans.” Of course, that takes in the full spectrum of persuasion and influence, but the difference in the focus of their book is the strategy of subtly steering choices toward better results while still preserving that choice. Within that setting, the strategic role is played by a “choice architect,” or someone who “has the responsibility for organizing a context in which people make decisions.” The context should be set up such that the persuasive targets are acting in way that reflects their own decisions and perceived best interests, but in a way that’s been thoughtfully engineered by the architect. “Choices,” they write, “are not blocked, fenced off, or significantly burdened.”

Based on the concise rule of thumb that “everything matters,” Thaler and Sunstein cover a number of well-known biases and heuristics like anchoring, availability, and representativeness. Those biases apply in all persuasive situations, but some settings are more prone to need this emphasis on choice and subtle influence. Thaler and Sunstein write, “people will need nudges for decisions that are difficult and rare, for which they do not get prompt feedback, and when they have trouble translating aspects of the situation into terms that they can easily understand.” Thinking of a juror, these terms — difficult, rare, delayed feedback, and challenging translation — all certainly apply.

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