How to Overcome Clinicians’ Resistance to Nudges

Discussions about how behavioral economics can make the world a better place are often framed through the lens of decision makers trying to improve the quality of other people’s decisions. To do so, behavioral economics provides policymakers and managers with a toolkit for serving as “decision architects” and nudging citizens and team members towards better choices. The principle is simple — make the right decision the path of least resistance — and the results are often good. Many nudge interventions seem to work across a wide range of applications. But what if you, a manager or another kind of professional, were on the receiving end of behavioral nudges? Would you feel differently about others trying to nudge you towards specific choices? If so, you are not alone. Nudges aren’t always perceived as helpful. Regardless of the creator’s intentions, nudges can feel patronizing or subtly manipulative and could backfire if recipients perceive them as noodges, a Yiddish term that means “nuisance or pest.” This is a particularly relevant problem for professional employees because three important traits they possess — a strong sense of purpose, a desire for autonomy, and a commitment to mastery — can be barriers to accepting managerial nudges. This article use examples from health care to illustrate the challenges of implementing nudges to drive behavior change among professional employees like physicians and offers principles that can be applied to overcome them.