Concurrents – Environmental Psychology: Healthy Nudges => Healthy People

by Sally Augustin, Ph.D. | October 15th, 2018

Nudges have been a particularly hot topic since Richard Thaler of the University of Chicago won a Nobel Prize, in part, for studying them. By nudges, we mean environmental or default cues that lead people to choose a healthier, more positive choice, compared to a negative one. And nudges toward health are being actively managed, in architecture, interior design and elsewhere, according to Dr. Cristina Banks, Director of Interdisciplinary Center for Healthy Workplaces at the University of California Berkeley. In August, Banks discussed nudges during her invited presentation at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association (“How to Increase Wellness Program Adoption and Employee Participation Using Principles of Psychology”). Nudges were comprehensively reviewed in an article by Binyamin Appelbaum focusing on Thaler’s Nobel Prize (New York Times, “Nobel in Economics Is Awarded to Richard Thaler”): “Britain’s former prime minister David Cameron described the inspiration [nudging] as a ‘very simple, …