NUDGE Examples & Applications

Scenario recognition

Automatically enrolling employees into pension plans is an example of which EAST principle?

Easy

Adding images or personalization to letters to draw attention is an example of which EAST principle?

Attractive

Informing people that most others pay their taxes on time uses which EAST principle?

Social

Sending reminder texts shortly before a deadline is an example of which EAST principle?

Timely

A website pre-selects a 20% tip and most users leave it unchanged.

Defaults — People tend to stick with pre-selected options.

Netflix automatically plays the next episode unless you stop it.

Inertia — Doing nothing continues the current behavior.

A product priced at $19.99 feels much cheaper than one priced at $20.00.

Left-digit effect — The leftmost digit disproportionately influences price perception.

A charity features one child’s name and photo instead of statistics.

Identifiable victim effect — People respond more to individuals than numbers.

A letter says “90% of people in your area pay their taxes on time.”

Social proof — People look to others’ behavior to guide their own.

Homeowners believe their house is worth more than market estimates.

Endowment effect — Ownership increases perceived value.

People keep a subscription after a free trial ends.

Loss aversion — Giving something up feels worse than gaining it felt.

A fitness app shows daily step counts and streaks.

Feedback — Progress information motivates continued behavior.

A student underestimates how long assignments will take every week.

Planning fallacy — Plans are overly optimistic about time requirements.

A news story about a rare crime makes people think it is common.

Availability heuristic — Easily recalled examples inflate perceived likelihood.

A voter dismisses negative information about a politician they support.

Confirmation bias — Information is interpreted to fit existing beliefs.

A store highlights “90% completed” instead of “10% remaining.”

Small area hypothesis — Emphasizing small remaining effort increases motivation.

Someone stays on hold with customer service because they already waited 20 minutes.

Sunk cost bias — Past investment drives continued behavior.

A cheap product is assumed to be low quality simply because of its price.

Price–quality heuristic — Price is used as a proxy for quality.

A professor asks students to write down when and where they will study.

Implementation intentions — Specific plans increase follow-through.