AAA

Nudging in economics education

Wojciech Bizon

Abstract

Traditional educational policy, drawing on pedagogical sciences, is based on teaching methods developed over the centuries, which are constantly assessed in terms of their current usefulness. So, is there anything else that can be done to improve the quality of education, including economics education? Due to certain features of the learners, not always acting rationally, it is justified to introduce several behavioral incentives (nudges). Their effectiveness has been previously positively verified outside of education. Then it can be assumed that the applied intervention will also be effective in teaching-focused activities. The power of such approaches lies in the fact that they are relatively cheap and, in principle, do not restrict the discretion of the interested parties. In other words, the methods used, with acceptable or no inconvenience for most people, force some of them to react in specific terms and induce to the desired type of procedure to achieve the expected goals. The article aims to introduce the idea of impact through the use of nudging in the context of broadly understood economics education and to demonstrate that their skillful use enables the improvement of the quality of teaching and the transfer of economic knowledge.

Keywords: nudging, nudge, education, economics education, behavioral economics

References

  • 2002 Data collection on education systems: Definitions, explanations and instructions (2002). UIS, OECD, EUROSTAT. https://www.oecd.org/education/1841883.pdf
  • Ariely, D. (2008). Predictably irrational: The hidden forces that shape our decisions. Harper Collins Publishers.
  • Ariely, D. i Wertenbroch, K. (2002). Procrastination, deadlines, and performance: Self-control by precommitment. Psychological Science, 13(3), 219-224. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00441
  • Aronson, J., Fried, C. B. i Good, C. (2002). Reducing the effects of stereotype threat on African American College Students by shaping theories of intelligence. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38(2), 113-125. https://doi.org/10.1006/jesp.2001.1491
  • Baker, R., Evans, B. i Dee, T. (2016). A randomized experiment testing the efficacy of a scheduling nudge in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC). Aera Open, 2(4), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858416674007
  • Bandiera, O., Larcinese, V. i Rasul, I. (2015). Blissful ignorance? A natural experiment on the effect of feedback on students' performance. Labour Economics, 34, 13-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.labeco.2015.02.002
  • Bargh, J. A. i Ferguson, M. J. (2000). Beyond behaviorism: On the automaticity of higher mental processes. Psychological Bulletin, 126(6), 925-945. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.126.6.925
  • Bargh, J. A., Chen, M. i Burrows, L. (1996). Automaticity of social behavior. Direct effects of trait construct and stereotype activation on action. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71(2), 230-244. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.71.2.230
  • Barone, C., Schizzerotto, A., Assirelli, G. i Abbiati, G. (2018). Nudging gender desegregation: a field experiment on the causal effect of information barriers on gender inequalities in higher education. European Societies, 21(3), 356-377. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2018.1442929
  • Becker, W. E. (2001). Economic education. W N. J. Smelser i P. B. Baltes (red.), International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences (s. 4078-4084). Elsevier.
  • Bizon, W. (2010). Skłonność do korzystania z instrumentów finansowych w zależności od wykształcenia, płci, wieku i stażu pracy, w tym w finansach. W P. Kulawczuk i A. Poszewiecki (red.), Behawioralne determinanty rozwoju przedsiębiorczości w Polsce. Ekonomia behawioralna finansowania przedsiębiorczości (s. 222-244). Fundacja Rozwoju Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego.
  • Bizon, W. (2018). „Tell them it's easy”: Framing incentives in learning basic statistical problems. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 76, 76-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2018.08.001
  • Bizon, W. (2019). Wiedza i jej transfer z perspektywy współczesnej ekonomii. Wykorzystanie instrumentarium ekonomii behawioralnej w edukacji ekonomicznej. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego.
  • Boland, W. A., Connell, P. M. i Vallen B. (2013). Time of day effects on the regulation of food consumption after activation of health goals. Appetite, 70, 47-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2013.06.085
  • Bursztyn, L. i Jensen, R. (2015). How does peer pressure affect educational investments? The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 130(3), 1329-1367. https://doi.org/10.1093/qje/qjv021
  • Chang, O. H., Nichols, D. R. i Schultz, J. J. (1987). Taxpayer attitudes toward tax audit risk. Journal of Economic Psychology, 8(3), 299-309. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-4870(87)90025-0
  • Cutler, D. M. i Lleras-Muney, A. (2012). Education and health: Insights from international comparisons. Working Paper, 17738. National Bureau of Economic Research. https://doi.org/10.3386/w17738
  • Damgaard, M. T. i Gravert C. (2016). The hidden cost of nudging: Experimental evidence from reminders in fundraising. Ekonomics Working Papers. Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University. https://econ.au.dk/fileadmin/site_files/filer_oekonomi/Working_Papers/Economics/2016/wp16_03.pdf
  • Damgaard, M. T. i Nielsen, H. S. (2018). Nudging in education. Economics of Education Review, 64, 313-342. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2018.03.008
  • Davis, J. J. (1995). The effects of message framing on response to environmental communications. Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, 72(2), 285-299. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769909507200203
  • Dijksterhuis, A. i van Knippenberg, A. (1998). The relation between perception and behavior, or how to win a game of Trivial Pursuit. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(4), 865-877. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.74.4.865
  • Ferrari, J. R., Mason, Ch. P. i Hammer, C. (2006). Procrastination as a predictor of task perceptions: Examining delayed and non-delayed tasks across varied deadlines. Individual Differences Research, 4(1), 28-36. https://bit.ly/3fe9Vzn
  • Field, E. (2009). Educational debt burden and career choice: Evidence from a financial aid experiment at NYU Law School. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 1(1), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1257/app.1.1.1
  • Fischer, S. R. (2004). A history of writing. Reaktion Books.
  • Gaillet, M., Sulmont-Rossé, C., Issanchou, S., Chabanet, C. i Chambaron S. (2013). Priming effects of an olfactory food cue on subsequent food-related behavior. Food Quality and Preference, 30(2), 274-281. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2013.06.008
  • Gaillet-Torrent, M., Sulmont-Rossé, C., Issanchou, S., Chabanet, C. i Chambaron, S. (2014). Impact of a non-attentively perceived odour on subsequent food choices. Appetite, 76, 17-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2014.01.009
  • Grüne-Yanoff, T. i Hertwig, R. (2016). Nudge versus boost: how coherent are policy and theory. Minds & Machines, 26, 149-183. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11023-015-9367-9
  • Hansen, P. G. i Jespersen, A. M. (2013). Nudge and the manipulation of choice: a framework for the responsible use of the nudge approach to behaviour change in public policy. European Journal of Risk Regulation, 4(1), 3-28. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1867299X00002762
  • Hummel, D. i Maedche, A. (2019). How effective is nudging? A quantitative review on the effect sizes and limits of empirical nudging studies. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 80, 47-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2019.03.005
  • Hunter, S. T., Bedell-Avers, K. E. i Mumford, M. D. (2009). Impact of situational framing and complexity on charismatic, ideological and pragmatic leaders: Investigation using a computer simulation. The Leadership Quarterly, 20(3), 383-404. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2009.03.007
  • Jabbar, H. (2011). The behavioral economics of education: New directions for research. Educational Researcher, 40(9), 446-453. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X11426351
  • Jalava, N., Joensen, J. S. i Pellas, E. (2015). Grades and rank: Impacts of non-financial incentives on test-performance. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 115, 161-196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2014.12.004
  • Jaworska, E. (2013). Przyczyny i konsekwencje prokrastynacji akademickiej. Folia Pomeranae Universitatis Technologiae Stietinensis. Oeconomica, 72(303), 63-72. http://foliaoe.zut.edu.pl/pdf/files/magazines/2/39/466.pdf
  • Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Allen Lane.
  • Kahneman, D. i Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica, 47(2), 263-292. https://doi.org/10.2307/1914185
  • Karlan, D., McConnell, M., Mullainathan, S. i Zinman, J. (2016). Getting to the top of mind: How reminders increase saving. Management Science, 62(12), 3393-3672. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2015.2296
  • King, D., Vlaev, I., Everett-Thomas, R., Fitzpatrick, M., Darzi, A. i Birnbach, D. J. (2016). „Priming” hand hygiene compliance in clinical environments. Health Psychology, 35(1), 96-101. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000239
  • Koch, A., Nafziger, J. i Nielsen, H.S. (2015). Behavioral economics of education. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 115, 3-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2014.09.005
  • Kulawczuk, P., Poszewiecki, A., Bizon, W., Szczepaniec, M., Zaucha, J., Dobrowolski, K., Aziewicz, D., Neumann, L., Szczęch, A., Szulc-Fischer, P., Bąk, M. i Szcześniak, A. (2016). The impact of behavioral interventions on the effectiveness of SME development policy. University of Gdansk, Department of Macroeconomics. http://bityl.pl/4Pvgt
  • Lawson, M. S., Ipfling, R. F., Arnove, H-J., Gelpi, R. F, Riché, E., Marrou, P., Vázquez, H. I., Shimahara, J. Z., Szyliowicz, N., Scanlon, J. S., Anweiler, D. G., Huq, O., Lauwerys, M. S., Bowen, J. A., Moumouni, J., Meyer, A., Nakosteen, A. E., Chambliss, M. K., Swink, J. J., ... Murray, R. (b.d.). Education. Encyclopedia Britannica. Pobrano 29 lipca 2021, z https://www.britannica.com/topic/education
  • Leamer, L. E. (1950). A brief history of economics in general education. W H. Taylor (red.), The teaching of undergraduate economics (s. 18-33). American Economic Review, 40(5). Supplement. https://www.jstor.org/stable/3804866
  • Lochner, L. (2011). Non-production benefits of education: Crime, health, and good citizenship. W E. Hanushek, S. Machin i L. Woessmann (red.), Handbook of the Economics of Education, 4, 183-282. Elsevier Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-444-53444-6.00002-X
  • Malewski, M. (2010). Od nauczania do uczenia się. O paradygmatycznej zmianie w andragogice. Wydawnictwo Naukowe Dolnośląskiej Szkoły Wyższej.
  • Muszyński, M. (2014). Edukacja i uczenie się - wokół pojęć. Rocznik Andragogiczny, 21. http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/RA.2014.004
  • Noga, B., Noga, M. i Dejnaka, A. (2016). Edukacja ekonomiczna polskiego społeczeństwa. CeDeWu.
  • Oldenbeek, M., van, Winkler, T., Buhl-Wiggers, J. i Hardt, D. (2019). Nudging in blended learning: Evaluation of email-based progress feedback in a Flipped Classroom information systems course. In Proceedings of the 27th European Conference on Information Systems (ECIS), Sztokholm & Uppsala, Szwecja, 8-14 czerwca 2019. AIS Electronic Library.
  • Peters, E., Västfjäll, D., Slovic, P., Mertz, C. K., Mazzocco, K. i Dickert, S. (2006). Numeracy and decision making. Psychological Science, 17(5), 407-413. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01720.x
  • Rebonato, R. (2012). Taking liberties: A critical examination of libertarian paternalism. Palgrave Macmillan.
  • Ridder, J. M. M., van de, Peters, C. M. M., Stokking, K. M., Ru, J. A., de i Ten Cate, O. T. J. (2015). Framing of feedback impacts student's satisfaction, self-efficacy and performance. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 20(3), 803-816. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-014-9567-8
  • Rose, E., Jhun, P., Baluzy, M., Hauck, A., Huang, J., Wagner, J., Kearl, Y. L., Behar, S. i Claudius, I. (2018). Flipping the classroom in medical student education: Does priming work? Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health, 19(1), 93-100. https://doi.org/10.5811/westjem.2017.8.35162
  • Smith, B., White, D., Kuzyk, P. i Tierney, J. (2018). Improved grade outcomes with an e-mailed „grade nudge”. The Journal of Economic Education, 49(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220485.2017.1397570
  • Sunstein, C. R. (2014). Nudging: A very short guide. Journal of Consumer Policy, 37(4), 583-588. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10603-014-9273-1
  • Szaszi, B., Palinkas, A., Palfi, B., Szollosi, A. i Aczél, B. (2018). A systematic Scoping review of the choice architecture movement: Towards understanding when and why nudges work. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 31(3), 355-366. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.2035
  • Szczepaniec, M., Babula, E., Poszewiecki, A., Zaucha, J., Kulawczuk, P. i Jurkiewicz, T. (2010). Behawioralne oddziaływanie framingu na skłonność do korzystania z instrumentów finansowych przez małe i srednie przedsiębiorstwa. W P. Kulawczuk i A. Poszewiecki (red.), Behawioralne determinanty rozwoju przedsiębiorczości w Polsce. Ekonomia behawioralna finansowania przedsiębiorczości (s. 39-64). Fundacja Rozwoju Uniwersytetu Gdańskiego.
  • Tams, C. (2018, 22 lutego). Small is beautiful: using gentle nudges to change organizations. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/carstentams/2018/02/22/small-is-beautiful-using-gentle-nudges-to-change-organizations/#da7ec435a8d0
  • Thaler, R. H. i Sunstein, C. R. (2017). Impuls. Jak podejmować właściwe decyzje dotyczące zdrowia, dobrobytu i szczęścia. Wydawnictwo Zysk i S-ka.
  • Thaler, R. H. (2018). Nudge, not sludge. Science, 361(6401), 431. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aau9241
  • Wagner, V. (2017). Seeking risk or answering smart? Heterogeneous effects of grading manipulations in elementary schools. https://conference.iza.org/conference_files/EcoEdu_2017/wagner_v25585.pdf
  • Weijers, R. J., de Koning, B. B. i Paas, F. (2020). Nudging in education: from theory towards guidelines for successful implementation. European Journal of Psychology of Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-020-00495-0
  • Williams, J. N. i Cheung A. (2011). Using priming to explore early word learning. W P. Trofimovich i K. McDonough (red.), Applying priming methods to L2 learning, teaching and research: Insights from psycholinguistics (s. 73-103). John Benjamins Publishing Co. https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.30.08wil
  • Wolters, Ch. A. (2003). Understanding procrastination from a self-regulated learning perspective. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(1), 179-187. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.95.1.179
  • York, B. N., Loeb, S. i Doss, C. (2018). One step at a time: The effects of an early literacy text messaging program for parents of preschoolers. The Journal of Human Resources, 56(3). https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.54.3.0517-8756R
  • Zalega, T. (2015). Ekonomia behawioralna jako nowy nurt ekonomii - zarys problematyki. Studia i Materiały, 1(18), 7-22. Wydział Zarządzania Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego. https://doi.org/10.7172/1733-9758.2015.18.1
AUTHOR

Wojciech Bizon

About the article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15219/em91.1529

The article is in the printed version on pages 25-34.

pdf read the article (Polish)

How to cite

Bizon, W. (2021).Nudging w edukacji ekonomicznej. e-mentor, 4(91), 25-34. https://doi.org/10.15219/em91.1529