Monday, July 25, 2011

Nudge-able

"People are nudge-able" according to Cass Sunstein, Obama's regulation czar.  That makes him our choice architect, does it not?  As I study applied social psychology in school and read Nudge simultaneously, I am amazed at the similarities.  Nudge is how to do applied social psychology.  I feel it is important to point out and emphasize the connections so that you might understand since it is likely that you may not be attending college and studying applied social psychology.  My only goal is that you might understand and see if you approve of the new agenda setting.  Nudge sets forth exactly what they think of you and what they plan to do and are doing to help you along.  Here is some more of what Sunstein and Thaler say:
"One of our major goals is to see how the world might be made easier, or safer, for the Homers in each of us" (that is Homer Simpson). 
" Most of us are busy, our lives are complicated, and we can't spend all our time thinking and analyzing everything."
"Anchors serve as nudges.  We can influence the figure you will choose in a particular situation by ever-so-subtly suggesting a starting point for your thought process."
"Default options act as powerful nudges...setting the best possible defaults will be a theme we explore often in this book" (Nudge).
"Framing works because people tend to be mindless, passive decision makers."
"Choices, even in life's most important decisions, are influenced in ways that would not be anticipated."  That is to say, "people are nudge-able."

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