Who accepts nudges? nudge acceptability from a self-regulation perspective.

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Economics
• Psychology
• Public Policy

Background:

• Public acceptability of nudging strategies is crucial for effective implementation.
• Existing research often focuses on nudge design or nudger intent, neglecting individual acceptance factors.
• Understanding who accepts nudges is vital, especially for interventions designed to benefit individuals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To integrate self-regulation theory with nudging research.
• To examine how self-regulation capacity and motivation influence nudge acceptability.
• To identify individual characteristics predicting acceptance of different nudge types.

Main Methods:

• 301 participants completed questionnaires on self-regulation capacity and motivation.
• Nudge acceptability was assessed using vignettes describing default, portion size, and rearrangement nudges.
• Nudges targeted pro-self (healthy eating) and pro-social (sustainable eating) behaviors.

Main Results:

• Rearrangement nudges were most acceptable; default nudges were least acceptable.
• Behavior type (pro-self vs. pro-social) did not significantly impact acceptability.
• Autonomous motivation consistently predicted nudge acceptability across all nudge types.
• Self-regulatory capacity showed limited and inconsistent associations with acceptability.

Conclusions:

• Individuals are more likely to accept nudges aligned with their autonomous motivations.
• Nudge acceptability judgments are not primarily driven by self-regulatory capacity.
• Findings highlight the importance of intrinsic motivation in public acceptance of behavioral interventions.