{"id":1111,"date":"2020-12-02T15:00:37","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T15:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/?p=1111"},"modified":"2023-03-01T10:22:24","modified_gmt":"2023-03-01T10:22:24","slug":"nudge-dont-sludge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lynn.global\/nudge-dont-sludge\/","title":{"rendered":"Nudge, don&#8217;t sludge."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introducing Nudge Theory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With a few holiday days to use before April rolls around, you open your preferred hotel\/house\/pitch booking app, ready for a couple of nights away. There are hundreds of options. The choice is yours. But how do you choose? You might look at the reviews or the ratings, you might consider how often the property is booked or the availability on the dates you\u2019ve picked \u2013 <em>Hurry! Only one room left at your current date. <\/em>Eventually, they reel you in with the artfully arranged towel photos.<em> <\/em>That\u2019s it. You click, you book, you receive a confirmation email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Given how many options you had to choose from, making the final decision was relatively easy. This may be because you were \u2018nudged\u2019. Or, as Professors Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler coined it, you came across an app which uses Nudge Theory. In their bestselling book, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/3450744-nudge\">\u201cNudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness\u201d<\/a>, they term a \u2018nudge\u2019 as a discreet behaviour tool which makes a certain behaviour more appealing. However, it in no way forbids an alternative or offers any great reward. Nudging still offers freedom of choice, while discreetly leaning its audience towards a certain positive decision. As Richard Thaler famously said, \u201calways nudge for good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If only everything were so easy. If only \u2013 when wanting your money back because the hotel in question is only accessible to cars on a full moon \u2013 there wasn\u2019t a series of digital hurdles standing between you and a refund. If only there wasn\u2019t sludge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Sludge theory<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If Nudge Theory is the positive tap to make a good decision easier, then sludge is the opposite.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Initially, Cass Sunstein identified \u2018sludge\u2019 as <em>\u201cexcessive or unjustified frictions, such as paperwork burdens, that cost time or money; that may make life difficult to navigate; that may be frustrating, stigmatising, or humiliating; and that might end up depriving people of access to important goods, opportunities, and services.\u201d<\/em> (Sludge Audits, 2019)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Again, sludge is part of choice architecture. However, sludge makes a positive decision more difficult to act upon. Take, for instance, that online subscription you tripped into. After the free trial was over, how much time did it take, and how many webpages did you have to scroll through, to find out how to cancel? How about finding a travel agency\u2019s customer service number? Then there is, of course, the refund.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>How to nudge instead of sludge<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sludge can be intentional or unintentional. Indeed, rushed decisions, non-user-friendly journeys, and policies implemented without considering audience behaviours can all lead to a sludgy experience. Businesses also weaponize sludge for profit. By creating friction barriers to keep users within a certain status quo, businesses can benefit \u2013 for a while, anyway. Generally speaking, audiences&nbsp;don\u2019t have a positive sentiment towards having their time, energy and money wasted.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the whole, nudging is beneficial for both businesses and consumers; it gently helps customers make the right decision for them which, in turn, generates custom and customer satisfaction. Sludge, however, might generate short-term gains for businesses, but in the long run will create resentment towards the brand. Customers do not return to sludge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So \u2013 for everyone\u2019s sake \u2013 when being a choice architect, remember: nudge, don\u2019t sludge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Interested in using behavioural science to understand your audiences better? Read more about choice architecture <a href=\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/are-you-a-choice-architect\/?__hstc=7883053.711f3b1c97cb64b8858467204dd7cb2a.1677665311602.1677665311602.1677665311602.1&amp;__hssc=7883053.1.1677665311603&amp;__hsfp=273819981\">here.<\/a> Or<\/strong> <strong>write to us at contact@lynn.global to get started on your behavioural insights journey.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>This article was written by Shayoni Lynn, CEO at Lynn.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Introducing Nudge Theory With a few holiday days to use before April rolls around, you open your preferred hotel\/house\/pitch booking app, ready for a couple of nights away. There are hundreds of options. The choice is yours. But how do you choose? You might look at the reviews or the ratings, you might consider how [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1112,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,155],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-insights"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Nudge, don&#039;t sludge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ever heard of &#039;sludge&#039; theory? 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Choice architecture doesn&#039;t always provide a smoother and easier user experience; it doesn&#039;t always &#039;nudge&#039;.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/nudge-dont-sludge\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Lynn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LynnPRltd\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-02T15:00:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-03-01T10:22:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/sludge.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1057\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shayoni Lynn\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@lynnpr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@lynnpr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Shayoni Lynn\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/nudge-dont-sludge\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/nudge-dont-sludge\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Shayoni Lynn\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#\/schema\/person\/7777331421f3853827c913ef71a1b726\"},\"headline\":\"Nudge, don&#8217;t sludge.\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-02T15:00:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-01T10:22:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/nudge-dont-sludge\/\"},\"wordCount\":592,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/nudge-dont-sludge\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/sludge.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"articles\",\"insights\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/nudge-dont-sludge\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/nudge-dont-sludge\/\",\"name\":\"Nudge, don't sludge\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/nudge-dont-sludge\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/nudge-dont-sludge\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/lynn.global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/sludge.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-02T15:00:37+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-03-01T10:22:24+00:00\",\"description\":\"Ever heard of 'sludge' theory? 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