Boosts and nudges

Boosting versus nudging: how do boosts and nudges differ?

Boosts and nudges differ in their immediate aims.

• Nudges seek to influence choices through the decision environment while preserving options.
• Boosts seek to improve decision competence.

Hertwig and Grüne-Yanoff (2017) develop this distinction and discuss areas of overlap.

Comparing proposed interventions

A preselected option changes what happens if someone does not choose. A tool for evaluating options aims to improve the person’s ability to choose. To compare them, specify the decision, whose objectives matter, and the outcome to improve.

Example: food choices

A cafeteria might move fruit to eye level, changing its visibility. It might also teach a simple rule for assembling a meal. The first is a proposed nudge; the second could be a boost if it develops usable decision competence. A sign with advice does not, by itself, establish that someone learned a skill.

Choosing and evaluating an approach

Neither label guarantees success. A competence-building intervention needs evidence that people can use what it provides. A choice-environment intervention needs evidence about behavior and consequences. Researchers use follow-up to test whether an improvement lasts, and studies in other settings to test whether it transfers.

The distinction is not simply “nudges are unconscious; boosts are conscious.” Some approaches overlap. Nor is it “nudges are temporary; boosts last”: some boosts serve a particular decision or context. Choose an approach for the actual task and the person’s capacity to use it.