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Beyond nudges: Tools of a choice architecture

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Abstract

The way a choice is presented influences what a decision-maker chooses. This paper outlines the tools available to choice architects, that is anyone who present people with choices. We divide these tools into two categories: those used in structuring the choice task and those used in describing the choice options. Tools for structuring the choice task address the idea of what to present to decision-makers, and tools for describing the choice options address the idea of how to present it. We discuss implementation issues in using choice architecture tools, including individual differences and errors in evaluation of choice outcomes. Finally, this paper presents a few applications that illustrate the positive effect choice architecture can have on real-world decisions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Decision Science, Columbia Business School, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA

    Eric J. Johnson & Elke U. Weber

  2. Anderson School of Management, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Suzanne B. Shu & Craig Fox

  3. Department of Business Economics, Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University, Rotterdam, Netherlands

    Benedict G. C. Dellaert

  4. Yahoo! Research and London Business School, London, UK

    Daniel G. Goldstein

  5. School of Business, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Gerald Häubl

  6. The Fuqua School of Business, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Richard P. Larrick & John W. Payne

  7. Psychology Department, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Ellen Peters

  8. Rady School of Management, UCSD, San Diego, CA, USA

    David Schkade

  9. Applied Economics and Management Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA

    Brian Wansink

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  1. Eric J. Johnson
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  2. Suzanne B. Shu
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  3. Benedict G. C. Dellaert
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Correspondence to Eric J. Johnson.

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Preparation of this article has been supported by NIA Grant 5R01AG027934 to the first author.

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Johnson, E.J., Shu, S.B., Dellaert, B.G.C. et al. Beyond nudges: Tools of a choice architecture. Mark Lett 23, 487–504 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-012-9186-1

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