Nudging and Manipulation
| Date | 01 June 2013 |
| Published date | 01 June 2013 |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1467-9248.2012.00974.x |
| Author | T. M. Wilkinson |
| Subject Matter | Original Article |
Nudging and Manipulationpost_974 341..355
T. M. Wilkinson
University of Auckland
Behavioural economics and social psychology have shown that humans have all sorts of psychological quirks. Policy
makers havebecome enthusiastic about taking advantage of these quirks through whatThaler and Sunstein call ‘nudges’.
This article asks: when wouldnudg ing be manipulative?The ar ticle has six parts:(1) publicity and transparency,which
claims thatThaler and Sunstein’s own attempt to deal with evil nudges is inadequate; (2) manipulation and autonomy,
where the nature and wrongness of manipulation is connected to a conception of autonomy;(3) the perversion of the
decision-making process – a piecemeal approach,which sorts nudges into easy and hard cases and assesses attempts to
pick out certain methods, such as temptation, as manipulative; (4) the perversion of the decision-making process –
general accounts, which showswhy we do not have a clear,complete and cor rect account of what such perversion is;
(5) intentions and nudging’s escape clause,where it is shown that governments that nudge asThaler and Sunstein would
wish do not manipulate because they do not have the intention to manipulate;and (6) consensual manipulation, where
it is claimed that manipulation can, with the right consent, be consistent with autonomy.
Keywords: nudge; manipulation; autonomy; social psychology; behavioural economics
Behavioural economics and social psychology have shown that psychological quirks rou-
tinely cause people to deviate in predictable ways from stereotypical economic rationality.
Policy makers appear to be becoming enthusiastic about taking advantage of these quirks
(e.g. Oullier et al., 2009). Policies that go with the grain of people’s psychology may be
more effective than the stick of coercive regulation and cheaper than the carrot of subsidy.
The best-known book that combines a synthesis of the academic literature with policy
recommendations is Nudge, by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein (Thaler and Sunstein,
2008 – abbreviated to N in future references). Thaler is an economist,and now an adviser
to the British government’s Behavioural Insight team; Sunstein is an academic lawyer
currently working for President Obama. Their term, ‘nudge’, is a memorable way of
capturing the use of modern social science to steer people’s behaviour.
The central idea of Nudge is that ‘small and apparently insignificant details can have major
impacts on people’s behavior’(N, p.3). Instead of making it illegal to sell junk food or taxing
it to discourage consumption, people can be nudged into healthier behaviour, for instance
by placing healthy food in a prominent position.Instead of the government’s mandating the
pensions or credit facilities it thinks would suit people best, it can improve their choice of
existing options by making the best the default. Instead of (or perhaps as well as) large
numbers of traffic police, the government can reshape the lines on the roads to slow drivers
down (N, pp. 37–9). Instead of punishing litter droppers or turning off people’s electr icity
if they use too much, governments or firms can encourage pro-social behaviour with
sophisticated advertising (such as ‘Don’t mess with Texas’, N, p. 61) or smiley faces on
electricity bills (N, p. 69.) According to Thaler and Sunstein, these methods can be
surprisingly successful in chang ing behaviour while being libertarian, in the sense that they
leave people free to do what they want.
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doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9248.2012.00974.x
POLITICAL STUDIES: 2013 VOL 61, 341–355
© 2012The Author.Political Studies © 2012 Political Studies Association
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