Nudging to influence human behaviour

I have been living a quite passive life for a very long time, and I had a terrible habit of prolonged sitting, which seems to be an innocent human activity, but it is not. Sitting beyond a limit can be as bad as smoking (metaphorically), especially when sitting on a hard surface.

I had this habit, and I suffered from spasms. As a consequence, I had to take bed rest multiple times to get into good shape. Now, I am fine, thankfully.

After seeing a doctor and physiotherapist, they told me that I needed to change my lifestyle and become more active. I had to get rid of my prolonged sitting habit. As you know, changing habits can be difficult, even if you want to.

So, how did I recover and achieve good health? The answer is pretty simple: I used the technique of nudging to change my behavior.

Theory of Nudging

Nudging is based on positive reinforcement or indirect suggestions to influence the behavior or decision-making of a group or individual. It contrasts with other methods like law enforcement, legislation, mandates, education, and the concept of reward and punishment to modify our behavior and decision-making.

Banning cigarettes is not a nudge, but keeping them out of sight in shop displays can be considered a nudge.

I needed a nudge at the right time, after 30–40 minutes, to stand up and walk. So, I bought an iWatch to nudge me at the right time so that I could take appropriate action. And it worked for me. The Health app in my watch tracks information like calorie burn rate, knows when I'm sitting or being active, etc. If I'm not active in any hour, it notifies me to stand up and take a walk.

Applications of Nudging

The technique of nudging can be used in any context where you want to influence human behavior without forcing anyone or reducing the number of choices. Nudging works like a trigger, designed in certain ways to make us behave and act in a predefined fashion, without our conscious or subconscious awareness.

• Product Design: There are default settings given while installing software. Default settings make your job easier and enhance the user experience without taking away other available options. Every good design is created in such a way that it influences users to give preference to one option over others. Every designer is a choice architect who provides the context for users to make choices.

• Marketing and Advertising: The very definition of advertising is to influence consumers to choose a product over other available options. Ads are not shown to educate consumers; rather, they are shown to nudge you to buy, or at least consider buying, the advertiser's products.

• Supermarket Product Arrangement: Ever wonder why there are chocolate bars at the billing counters and grocery items at the far end of the supermarket? It is not a random arrangement; rather, it is by design to nudge your decision-making.

• Getting Healthy: Go and buy any smart wearable. Set a small health goal first and keep completing your goals. Then gradually, increase the difficulty level and follow the cycle to reach the target day by day. It will be a source of positive reinforcement.

Nudge is Not Law. It is Psychology.