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I'm worried that behavioral science will be like advertising in that as people become more exposed to it the effectiveness will decrease. It could end up being

I'm worried that behavioral science will be like advertising in that as people become more exposed to it the effectiveness will decrease. It could end up being one more thing to filter around. Maybe it would be better if we collectively decided not to manipulate each other, even if we think that we know best.

sohkamyung 9y ago
I'm afraid that genie is out of the bottle. As the article notes: Nudging is hardly new. “In Genesis, Satan nudged, and Eve did too,” writes Cass Sunstein of Harvard University. From the middle of the 20th century psychologists such as Stanley Milgram and Philip Zimbardo showed how sensitive humans are to social pressure. The best we can do is to be aware that it is taking place. From the article: As long as that choice is made in a transparent manner, and is subject to democratically elected politicians, nudging offers policymakers an alternative to both the nanny state and the unintelligent one; a middle way that he [Sunstein] describes as “libertarian paternalism”.
cJ0th 9y ago
> Maybe it would be better if we collectively decided not to manipulate each other, even if we think that we know best. Yes it would but it's not going to happen. I don't like manipulating people and thus my default is to be as unintrusive as possible at first but this seldom leads to success. For instance, if your friend agreed with you to have a phone call soon and you write an e-mail asking what date would suit him/her then it happens more often than not that they delay their response or even forget to answer. If, otoh, you write an e-mail: "Is is okay if I ring you at 8 p.m tonight?" then they feel more pressure to answer you and maybe even agree with your date. Of course, they don't have to. It would be perfectly fine to answer: "No, tonight is not good and I am not sure when I am going to have time." But most people aren't that free. If you give them a range of choices, chances are they are going to pick one instead of offering a counter proposal. If you don't offer choices it is very likely that nothing is going to happen. A loose-loose situation (in this example: both of you want to talk but no date is being agreed upon and thus no call) is more likely to happen.

sohkamyung 9y ago

I'm afraid that genie is out of the bottle. As the article notes: Nudging is hardly new. “In Genesis, Satan nudged, and Eve did too,” writes Cass Sunstein of Harvard University. From the middle of the 20th century psychologists such as Stanley Milgram and Philip Zimbardo showed how sensitive humans are to social pressure. The best we can do is to be aware that it is taking place. From the article: As long as that choice is made in a transparent manner, and is subject to democratically elected politicians, nudging offers policymakers an alternative to both the nanny state and the unintelligent one; a middle way that he [Sunstein] describes as “libertarian paternalism”.

cJ0th 9y ago

> Maybe it would be better if we collectively decided not to manipulate each other, even if we think that we know best. Yes it would but it's not going to happen. I don't like manipulating people and thus my default is to be as unintrusive as possible at first but this seldom leads to success. For instance, if your friend agreed with you to have a phone call soon and you write an e-mail asking what date would suit him/her then it happens more often than not that they delay their response or even forget to answer. If, otoh, you write an e-mail: "Is is okay if I ring you at 8 p.m tonight?" then they feel more pressure to answer you and maybe even agree with your date. Of course, they don't have to. It would be perfectly fine to answer: "No, tonight is not good and I am not sure when I am going to have time." But most people aren't that free. If you give them a range of choices, chances are they are going to pick one instead of offering a counter proposal. If you don't offer choices it is very likely that nothing is going to happen. A loose-loose situation (in this example: both of you want to talk but no date is being agreed upon and thus no call) is more likely to happen.