Boost vs Nudges: perceived effectiveness and criticism shape preferences for sustainable behavioral policies.

Abstract

Abstract Boosts and nudges are two separate types of behavioral public policies, distinguished by the mechanisms through which they operate. Nudges make use of cognitive biases and changes in the decision environment to promote sustainable behavior, while boosts seek to induce the desired outcomes by improving people’s energy-saving competences. In an online study, we asked our respondents to express their preferences towards typical nudge and boost exemplars. Descriptions depicting different policy types to reduce energy consumption were presented in a 4-group randomized between-subjects design. We found that people’s preferences depended on the perceived effectiveness of the respective types, and the degree of criticism they expressed towards them. Interestingly, the participants were less critical towards boosts, but indicated that they preferred nudges. This preference was reversed when participants assumed that boosts were more effective than nudges. We also demonstrated that a fit between perceived intervention effectiveness and communicated effectiveness information lowers the probability of switching preferences from one intervention type to the other.