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Nudges are weaker than sold

Dark nudges barely work and cost trust. Nudge toward their own goal.

SWe reviewed the research on it.Pricing and selling honestly

Hand-drawn diagram of framework 92, Nudges are weaker than sold: Dark nudges barely work and cost trust. Nudge toward their own goal.
Framework 92 · in one look
How to use it

Fake scarcity, decoys and defaults that work against the customer barely work on average once publication bias is removed, and they cost trust. Use nudges that serve the customer's own goal.

How sure we are

S Evidence: strong. Large trials or many studies, pointing the same way.

Sources

Mertens et al. 2022 · Maier et al. 2022 (bias-corrected reanalysis) · Steven Bartlett's "Goldilocks effect" (three options so the middle one wins) is this decoy idea: real in labs, weaker than sold in the field (🟡).

Not medical, legal or financial advice.

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