When a nudge backfires : combining (im)plausible deniability with social and economic incentives to promote behavioral change
Gary Bolton, Eugen Dimant, Ulrich Schmidt
Both theory and recent empirical evidence on nudging suggest that observability of behavior acts as an instrument for promoting (discouraging) pro-social (anti-social) behavior. We connect three streams of literature (nudging, social preferences, and social norms) to investigate the universality of these claims. By employing a series of high-powered laboratory and online studies, we report here on an investigation of the questions of when and in what form backfiring occurs, the mechanism behind the backfiring, and how to mitigate it. We find that inequality aversion moderates the effectiveness of such nudges and that increasing the focus on social norms can counteract the backfiring effects of such behavioral interventions. Our results are informative for those who work on nudging and behavioral change, including scholars, company officials, and policy-makers.
Year of publication: |
January 2020 ; This version: January 17, 2020
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Authors: | Bolton, Gary E. ; Dimant, Eugen ; Schmidt, Ulrich |
Publisher: |
Munich, Germany : CESifo, Center for Economic Studies & Ifo Institute |
Subject: | anti-social behavior | nudge | pro-social behavior | reputation | social norms | Soziales Verhalten | Social behaviour | Soziale Norm | Social norm | Verhaltensökonomik | Behavioral economics | Anreiz | Incentives | Verhalten | Behaviour | Reputation | Social Marketing | Social marketing | Konsumentenverhalten | Consumer behaviour |
Saved in:
freely available
Extent: | 1 Online-Ressource (circa 63 Seiten) Illustrationen |
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Series: | CESifo working papers. - München : [Verlag nicht ermittelbar], ISSN 2364-1428, ZDB-ID 2065232-X. - Vol. no. 8070 (2020) |
Type of publication: | Book / Working Paper |
Type of publication (narrower categories): | Graue Literatur ; Non-commercial literature ; Arbeitspapier ; Working Paper |
Language: | English |
Other identifiers: | hdl:10419/215072 [Handle] |
Classification: | C91 - Laboratory, Individual Behavior ; D64 - Altruism ; D90 - Intertemporal Choice and Growth. General |
Source: | ECONIS - Online Catalogue of the ZBW |
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012158705