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Figure 2From “What is a nudge?”

A nudge test record

Write down the decision, the change, whether it is a nudge, the comparison, the detectable effect and the report before the test starts.

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Figure 2A nudge test record

A six-column worksheet for testing a proposed nudge: the decision and its options, the change and its mechanism or default, whether every option is kept and the incentives unchanged, the random assignment and arm sizes, the smallest effect detectable at 80 per cent power, and the outcome, window and arms reported.DecisionWhose choice,which options?ChangeWhichmechanism ordefault?Nudge?Options kept,incentivesunchanged?ComparisonRandomassignment, armsizes?DetectableSmallest effectat 80% power?ReportOutcome,window, everyarm?Report every arm, significant or not: low power biased the published average only together with selection.

Source: Author's decision worksheet. The decision, change and nudge fields follow DellaVigna and Linos (2022), pp. 81, 82 and 89 to 92; the comparison field follows DellaVigna and Linos (2022), pp. 82 and 85 to 86, and Jachimowicz et al. (2019), pp. 177 and 179; the detectable field follows DellaVigna and Linos (2022), pp. 83 and 98; the report field follows DellaVigna and Linos (2022), pp. 84, 106 and 111 to 113. The fields are reader inputs; no company data is supplied.

PNG4:3, 1600 × 1200, with the title, the source line and the attribution set in the image isoglu-2026-what-is-a-nudge-fig02.png

Source and evidence

Each line names a claim related to this exhibit, its source, and how it was checked.

  • B NDG-OWN-C2 The guide's definition as a pre-trial test (options kept, no discount, fee or bonus added, other incentives essentially unchanged); a hypothetical maintenance-contract supplier with about 400 renewals a quarter classifies five changes: a one-page notice (simplification and information), a reminder (reminders and planning prompts), a form opening on the current service level (a status quo default), 3% off for renewing early (an incentive, not a nudge on the guide's definition), withdrawing monthly billing (an option forbidden, not a nudge); the default evidence comes from articles on choices such as organ donation, end-of-life care, vaccination, green energy and charitable giving, 34 of them starred in the reference list and one, Dinner et al. (2011), named in the forest plot, none of which, judging by the titles, concerns business buyers or contract renewals; the example classifies the status quo default without recommending it (revised at G5 2026-10-16); Figure 2 records decision, change, nudge test, comparison, detectable effect and report; with 200 accounts per arm and 80% on-time renewal, the minimum detectable difference at 80% power and a two-sided 5% test is about 11 points (2.8 times the square root of 2 times 0.8 times 0.2 over 200) and significance needs about 7.8, many times the units' 1.4; reporting every arm avoids the selection that inflated the published average; untested.Author worksheet grounded in DELLAVIGNA22-C5 to DELLAVIGNA22-C9, DELLAVIGNA22-C11, JDWJ19-C1 and JDWJ19-C5 to JDWJ19-C7; untested

Grades: A, verified against the printed page of the primary source · B, primary source, text layer only · C, authoritative secondary · D, reported.

From the essay

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APA 7

Isoglu, S. (2026). A nudge test record [Figure]. isoglu.com. https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-what-is-a-nudge-fig02/

BibTeX
@misc{isoglu-2026-what-is-a-nudge-fig02,
  author = {Isoglu, Sinan},
  title = {{A nudge test record}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Figure 2, isoglu.com},
  url = {https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-what-is-a-nudge-fig02/},
  note = {From the essay {What is a nudge?}}
}
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<figure>
  <a href="https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-what-is-a-nudge-fig02/">
    <img src="https://isoglu.com/social/isoglu-2026-what-is-a-nudge-fig02.png" alt="Figure 2: A nudge test record" width="3200" height="2400">
  </a>
  <figcaption>Figure 2: A nudge test record. Source: Author&#39;s decision worksheet. The decision, change and nudge fields follow DellaVigna and Linos (2022), pp. 81, 82 and 89 to 92; the comparison field follows DellaVigna and Linos (2022), pp. 82 and 85 to 86, and Jachimowicz et al. (2019), pp. 177 and 179; the detectable field follows DellaVigna and Linos (2022), pp. 83 and 98; the report field follows DellaVigna and Linos (2022), pp. 84, 106 and 111 to 113. The fields are reader inputs; no company data is supplied. <a href="https://isoglu.com/insights/exhibits/isoglu-2026-what-is-a-nudge-fig02/">View exhibit</a>.</figcaption>
</figure>

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