The current debate on nudging is dichotomous since it either mentions the arguments in favor of or opposed to nudging. Proponents of nudging also assume that nudges should pursue the goal to...Show moreThe current debate on nudging is dichotomous since it either mentions the arguments in favor of or opposed to nudging. Proponents of nudging also assume that nudges should pursue the goal to produce certain desired outcomes. This paper questions the current dichotomy of the debate and the assumption on the goal of nudges by differentiating between an output-oriented and a process-oriented conception of nudging. The aim of the thesis is to argue that process-oriented nudges rather than output-oriented nudges are desirable because they can promote the autonomy-based freedom of individuals. The thesis formulates three conditions that process-oriented nudges should satisfy in order to promote autonomy-based freedom and it applies the process-oriented conception of nudging to three different nudges. The paper concludes that especially the nudges that make relevant information salient and that change defaults are compatible with a process-oriented conception of nudging. The process-oriented conception of nudging was applied to the empirical case of vaccination policies in order to find out what kind of nudges would be compatible with a process-oriented conception of nudging.Show less
Increasing attention is being paid to health inequalities in the Netherlands. Policymakers and government agencies are looking for methods to reduce the health gap, especially in order to increase...Show moreIncreasing attention is being paid to health inequalities in the Netherlands. Policymakers and government agencies are looking for methods to reduce the health gap, especially in order to increase the health of people in risk groups. People with a lower level of education and low food literacy appear to be an important risk group for food-related health issues. Nudging has been shown to be an easy and effective way to promote healthy behavior. For this reason, this study investigated whether the level of education and food literacy influence the effectiveness of default nudges in encouraging healthy food choices. An online supermarket experiment was used with a default and control condition. In the default condition, a healthy food product was displayed larger and preselected to investigate whether this option was chosen more often. A total number of 229 participants took part in the online supermarket experiment and completed the Self-Perceived food Literacy scale beforehand. Default nudges were found to have a positive effect on stimulating the proportion of nudged healthy products, but no interaction effect was found for different levels of education and food literacy. In conclusion, nudges can be used effectively, but no difference in effectiveness was found for different levels of education and food literacy. However, one nudge is not going to make the difference in reducing health inequalities. Yet, nudges do have promising effects and can contribute to stimulating healthy food choices one step at a time.Show less
