In their now famous book Nudge, self-described ‘paternalistic libertarians’ Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein cite this new paint as an example of ‘feedback’ — the notion that people will make better choices when their decisions have rapidly visible results. If you’ve tried typing on an outdated PC, where characters take seconds to appear on screen, you know how disconcerting slow feedback can be. But it can be a matter of life or death: Vehicle Activated Signs (the ones which flash up your speed) have been shown to prevent more accidents than speed cameras — at 5 per cent of the cost. Instant feedback may improve behaviour more than delayed punishment.
Two other concepts introduced by Thaler and Sunstein are ‘defaults’ and ‘choice architecture’. The first highlights the importance of setting the right default in certain decisions (some people believe consent to organ donation should be considered a given unless the deceased is carrying a ‘non-donor card’).
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