This deck accompanied Kelly Baron's SXSW talk on 3/13/17. Nudge theory is about hacking human nature using subtle, context-driven interventions. We all sometimes buy into the shampoo commercial dream that our products can make us into better people, but what if that were true? Thanks to IoT, we’re designing products that make and break our habits. We applied nudge theory to our healthcare wearable, Under Currents, to solve billions of dollars’ worth of medical errors and save lives. When common sense fails, common sensors help us be the best version of ourselves. Join Kelly Baron, a business designer from Fjord Austin, as she talks about how to apply nudge theory theory to digital experiences.

1. NUDGE THEORY
KELLY BARON

2. @KELLYGANCAS

3. TABLE OF
CONTENTS
1. What’s a Nudge?
2. Brains are Weird
3. Empathetic Defaults
4. Applied Nudges &
Digital Product Creation

4. SXSW | NUDGE THEORY4
TO NUDGE IS TO
“ALERT, REMIND,
OR MILDLY WARN.”
DEFINITION

5. | SXSW | NUDGE THEORY5
FAMOUS NUDGES
Schiphol Airport,
Amsterdam
This little
fly reduced
“spillage”
by 80%.

6. SXSW | NUDGE THEORY
STAT
6
92%of Americans believe
it’s important to
always wash your hands,
Source: “Overconfidence among physicians and nurses: The ‘micro-certainty, macro-uncertainty’ phenomenon,” Social Science & Medicine, 1991
66%actually do.
BUT only

7. | SXSW | NUDGE THEORY7
APPLIED NUDGES
• Inexperienced
• Poorly Informed
• Tired/Hungry
PEOPLE DON’T MAKE
GOOD DECISIONS
WHEN THEY ARE:
When common sense fails,
common sensors bridge the gap.

8. | NUDGE THEORY8
NUDGE OR NOT?
• Influences behavior
• Preserves choice
A WELL-DESIGNED
PRISON CELL
NUDGES EXIST BECAUSE WE
DON’T ACT IN OUR OWN BEST
INTEREST.

9. BRAINS ARE WEIRD

10. | NUDGE THEORY10
KNOW THYSELF
WHAT MOVIE WILL
YOU SEE NEXT
WEEK?
WHAT MOVIE WILL
YOU SEE TONIGHT?
LONG-TERM ESTIMATES
ARE MORE DIFFICULT.

11. SXSW | NUDGE THEORY11
OPTICAL ILLUSIONS
FALLACIES

13. 7

14. 8

15. | NUDGE THEORY15
IT’S ALL RELATIVE
Ebbinghaus Illusion

16. IMAGE: KEVIN WISBITH

17. RICHARD H. THALER & CASS R. SUNSTEIN,
NUDGE
There’s no such thing
as neutral design.

18. WHY DEFAULT SETTINGS
RULE THE WORLD

21. | SXSW | NUDGE THEORY21
OPT-IN VS. OPT-OUT
Organ Donation
In opt-out countries, over 90%
of people donate their organs.
In opt-in countries,
fewer than 15% do.
Source: Davidai, S., Gilovich, T., & Ross, L. (2012). The meaning of default
options for potential organ donors.

22. | NUDGE THEORY22
MEETING PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE
• Normally, 10
hours of fasting
• During Ramadan
DIABETES
SCREENINGS
UNDERSTANDING CULTURAL
CONTEXTS HELPS YOU
REDUCE FRICTION.

23. SXSW | NUDGE THEORY23
MIND THE (EMPATHY)
GAP
FALLACIES

24. SXSW | NUDGE THEORY24
FRENCH FRY FALLACY
FALLACIES

25. SXSW | NUDGE THEORY25
PEOPLE
DESIGNING
PRODUCTS
PEOPLE
BUYING
PRODUCTS
1. Fast Company, “The Innovation Economy Is Terrible At Designing For Women,” 2016.
2. Bloomberg, “Women Make Up 85% of All Consumer Purchases,” 2016.
85%
WOMEN
85%
MEN

26. | NUDGE THEORY26
TECHNIQUE
• Cause the least harm
& most good
• As determined by
the user, not by you
GOOD DEFAULT
EXAMPLE: AUTO-RENEW
30-DAY
TRIAL
AUTO-
RENEW

27. INDIVIDUAL CHOICES

28. | NUDGE THEORY28
HIDDEN CHOICES
SOMETIMES, CHOICES
ARE DECOYS.
$41 STEAKS
make you order the
$36 LAMB CHOPS.

29. | NUDGE THEORY29
HIDDEN CHOICES
SOMETIMES, CHOICES
ARE DECOYS.
THE INVISIBLE CHOICE:
THROWING THE CIGARETTE
ON THE GROUND.

30. LADDERING UP
TO BEHAVIOR

31. NUDGE THEORY31
EACH INSTANCE OF
HAND WASHING IS A
BINARY CHOICE.
TO WASH OR NOT TO WASH?

32. NUDGE THEORY32
92%of Americans believe
it’s important to
always wash your hands,
Source: “Overconfidence among physicians and nurses: The ‘micro-certainty, macro-uncertainty’ phenomenon,” Social Science & Medicine, 1991
STAT
66%actually do.
BUT only

33. MEDICAL ERROR
PREVENTION
REAL-TIME
NOTIFICATIONS

34. NUDGE THEORY34

35. AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION,
EFFECTS OF COMPUTERIZED CLINICAL DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS ON
PRACTITIONER PERFORMANCE AND PATIENT OUTCOMES
Improved practitioner performance was
associated with [systems] that
automatically prompted users compared
with requiring users to activate the system
(success in 73% of trials vs 47%).

36. SXSW | NUDGE THEORY
STAT
36
$11-12Kper error prevented.
Source: “The Economic Measurement of Medical Errors,” Society of Actuaries, 2010
Estimated hospital savings of

37. NUDGE THEORY37
Anywhere human nature contradicts
business goals, regular real-time
intervention is needed to keep people
from acting too much like people.
KEY INSIGHT

38. HOW TO NUDGE
DIGITALLY

39. SXSW | NUDGE THEORY39
MAKE THE INTANGIBLE,
TANGIBLE.
PRINCIPLES FOR APPLIED NUDGES

40. SXSW | NUDGE THEORY40
MAKE THE UNFAMILIAR,
RELATABLE.
PRINCIPLES FOR APPLIED NUDGES

41. SXSW | NUDGE THEORY41
MAKE THE DISTANT,
IMMEDIATE.
PRINCIPLES FOR APPLIED NUDGES

42. | SXSW | NUDGE THEORY42
WHY:
HOW:
BELIEFS & BEHAVIOR
DON’T MATCH.
WITH COMMON SENSE
& COMMON SENSORS.
BY:
TAKING THINGS OFF THE
THINKING LIST.

43. QUESTIONS?

44. THANK YOU.
KELLY BARON
k.baron@fjordnet.com
linkedin.com/in/kellybaron

45. APPENDIX

46. | SXSW | NUDGE THEORY46
HOW TO
Types of Nudges
• Anchoring
• Priming
• Comparison
• Context/Framing
• Real-time
• Reminder
• Good Default
• Social

47. | SXSW | NUDGE THEORY47
STIMULUS-RESPONSE COMPATIBILITY
Nudging Natively
• Hybrid v. Native
• Push & Pull

48. JASON JOB,
VP OF DEVELOPMENT EVANGELISM AT FJORD
With hybrid, you’re always going to
be compromising. It’ll either be more
like Android or like iOS or like neither.
One of them is going to suffer.

49. NUDGING TO
SEE HERE

50. SAVINGS ACCOUNTS
LOTTERY

51. COLLEGE
COUNSELING
TEXTING

52. MANIPULATE YOUR
COWORKERS

53. WHAT NUMBER
DO I KNOW?
IS THE
NUMBER I NEED
TO KNOW
BIGGER OR
SMALLER?
ADJUST
ADJUST
ANCHORING