Nudge (economics)
Etymology
The everyday verb “nudge,” a light poke with the elbow, is of obscure origin, perhaps from a Scandinavian root. Economist Richard Thaler and legal scholar Cass Sunstein gave it its technical sense in their 2008 book “Nudge,” defining it as any feature of choice architecture that changes behavior predictably without banning options. The coinage fed into Thaler’s 2017 Nobel in economics.
noun · /nuhj/
A small change to how choices are presented that predictably steers behavior without forbidding options or altering incentives.
What it names
The gentle design lever — defaults, placement, framing — that shapes decisions while leaving people free to choose otherwise.
Example
Making retirement savings opt-out instead of opt-in is a classic nudge that sharply raises enrollment.
Related idea
A nudge preserves free choice, whereas a mandate removes it; the darker cousin is the dark pattern, which steers you toward what benefits the designer, not you.
noun · /nuhj/
A light push, especially with the elbow, given to get someone’s attention or prompt them gently.
What it names
a small physical prod
Example
She gave him a nudge to wake him just before their stop.
Related idea
The behavioral-economics sense grew straight from this image — a gentle prod, not a shove; compare how choices are staged in the paradox of choice.