What is it about?
In this study we look at the long-term effect of changing the default setting of sit-stand desks from sitting to standing, such that employees always find their desk at standing height. This small intervention let to an increase in standing rate that was more than 7 times higher than at baseline. Also after eight weeks the standing rates were still 4 times higher. The observations in this study suggest that it might be possible to encounter the same nudge every day without losing its effectiveness and potentially build habits because of the nudge.
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Why is it important?
There is an urgent call for effective interventions to reduce sedentary behaviour, and nudges are now a popular tool to address these public health issues. However, there is very little known about the effectiveness of a nudge on the long-term. This is one of the first studies that assesses what happens if people are exposed to the same nudge everyday for 8 weeks. The results indicate that nudges lead to improved social norms with regard to standing behaviour.
Perspectives
I hope that this article will inspire people to think about the long-term effect of nudges. Because of the subtle nature of nudges it could go either way: a) the effect will fade a way, in a similar way that people get used to the ticking of a clock or b) people will be continually affected by the nudge, such that social norms change about what is the new appropriate behaviour and may be eventually lead to habit formation. This paper is a first step in this direction by showing that there indeed can be a long-term effect of a default nudge.
Tina A.G. Venema
Utrecht University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: I’m still standing: A longitudinal study on the effect of a default nudge, Psychology & Health, October 2017, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/08870446.2017.1385786.
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