Dr. Sanchayan Banerjee (VU Amsterdam) “Reflection before a nudge improves sustainable dietary choices. Evidence from an online randomised controlled trial.”

Abstract

Nudges have been increasingly deployed to promote sustainable dietary choices in the last decade. There is currently mixed evidence of their effectiveness and a concern about the extent to which they can be scaled up. We test whether reflective strategies can enhance the effectiveness of nudges in promoting sustainable diets by encouraging agency in consumers. We do this by systematically comparing nudges with more reflective interventions – thinks, boosts, and nudge plus – over orders of sustainable meals, using an online experiment with 3,074 participants in the United Kingdom. We find all behavioural interventions increase intentions to order sustainable food; but encouraging reflection prior to nudging (“nudge+") works best. Reflection strengthens average treatment effects of the default nudge by 30%. We do not find any evidence for negative behavioural spillovers on people's charitable donations. Based on our findings, we argue that reflection can potentially enhance sustainable behaviour change.