The Ethics of Nudge (and Sludge)

One of the best known theories of Behavioral Economics is undoubtedly the Nudge theory (Thaler, R. and Sunstein, C., 2008). There are several traditional tools that governments and private organizations can use to influence behavior; for example, incentives, tax increase or decrease, educational initiatives, etc. However, these traditional tools are not always enough to change people's behavior.

For this reason, it is important to start using complementary tools, such as Nudges, which seek to explore in depth why people make decisions or carry out certain behaviors.

Read the article "Nudg...ify: applying theory into practice" to learn more about the definition of Nudge and an applied example.

When I discuss this theory in my courses, it is important for me to also discuss the difference between influencing and manipulating behaviors, and specifically the ethics of Nudge (and Sludge).

In this article we will see the characteristics of an ethical Nudge, what is a Sludge and how to perform a Sludge Audit with the Nudge FORGOOD model (Lades, L. K. and Delaney, L., 2022).

What are the characteristics of an ethical Nudge?

The definition of Nudge mentions some characteristics of an ethical intervention. For example:

• The nudge should be transparent and never misleading.

• It must be voluntary, "getting out" of the Nudge must be very easy.

• There must be good reason to believe that the behavior encouraged will improve the well-being of the people involved.

However, the importance of the ethics of Nudge is dictated by the fact that there is another concept, Sludge, that can be summed up as the opposite of Nudge.

What is Sludge?

Sludge refers to the frictions that prevent people from doing what they would like to do or making the decisions they would like to make.

Whereas a Nudge attempts to push people to make better decisions by making certain choices easier than others, a Sludge makes a process more difficult with the goal of creating friction, making it less likely that consumers, users, and citizens continue a process.

Sludge can take two forms: 1) Discouraging behaviors that are in a person's best interest; 2) Encourage self-defeating behaviors.

Considering that a Behavioral Economics intervention could also have a negative impact if not well planned, how do we know if we are intervening ethically or not to change behaviors?

How to perform a Sludge Audit with the Nudge FORGOOD framework?

In C. Sunstein's book “Sludge”, he introduces the idea of performing a Sludge Audit in order to minimize the frictions generated by some processes for citizens, clients and users. This is very important for governments or private organizations that want to carry out an intervention with the aim of changing behaviors. Therefore, I think it is also relevant to complement this idea with the ethical framework “Nudge FORGOOD” developed by Lades, L. K. and Delaney, L. (2019) which allows us to create an actionable checklist to assess whether a Nudge is ethical or not.

Nudge FORGOOD suggest that nudgers should consider seven fundamental ethical dimensions:

Fairness Does the Nudge have undesired redistributive effects?

Openness Is the Nudge open or hidden and manipulative?

Respect Does the Nudge respect people’s autonomy, dignity, freedom of choice and privacy?

Goals Does the Nudge serve good and legitimate goals?

Opinions Do people accept the means and the ends of the Nudge?

Options Do better Nudges exist and are they warranted?

Delegation Do the nudgers have the right and the ability to nudge using the power delegated to them?

For any questions or if you need help implement ethical Nudges in your company, contact me.

Silvia Cottone

Behavioral Science Consultant & Worldwide Speaker

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This is my interpretation or perspective on the ethics of Nudge and the Nudge FORGOOD framework. I invite you to read more scientific articles on the subject to have a more detailed vision.

(1) Thaler, R. H., & Sunstein, C. R. (2008). Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth, and happiness. Yale University Press.

(2) Sunstein, C. (2022). Sludge: What Stops Us from Getting Things Done and What to Do about It. The MIT Press

(3) Lades, L. K. and Delaney, L. (2019). Nudge FORGOOD. Behavioural Public Policy, Volume 6 , Issue 1 , pp. 75 - 94. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/bpp.2019.53