Lecturer to discuss 'nudging' yourself to better food choices

Dr Felix Why, a senior lecturer in psychology at the University of Worcester, will give a free talk outlining his psychological research on 'nudge behaviour' with colleagues from the Universitas Negeri Semarang in Indonesia.

Dr Why said: "Nudging doesn’t involve banning things.

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"It’s changing the choice architecture to make things easier.

"It doesn’t involve financial incentives to make it cheaper, it’s not about removing choice.

"From this talk you will learn that you get exposed to the persuasiveness of nudge, how pervasive it is in society and the varieties of nudging techniques available."

The talk, titled 'Nudge Behaviour – Psychological Research Strategies for Healthy Dietary Choices and Behaviour Change', will take place at The Hive on Friday, November 1 at 6.30pm.

The session will explore the methods used in their research, and how these could be incorporated into everyday life, especially in the workplace.

Nudge behaviour strategies can be divided into behavioural, cognitive, and emotional categories.

An example of a behavioural nudge is making healthy foods more convenient, such as providing fruit slices instead of whole fruits.

Cognitive nudges tap into our thought processes, such as 'one of your five-a-day' stickers on fruit or vegetable packaging, or the use of a healthy scent, like fruit, in the decision-making area.

Emotional nudges involve associating positive feelings with desired behaviours, for instance, showing posters of people smiling while eating fruits.

Dr Why and his colleagues have been employing nudge techniques for several years to observe how they influence people's food and drink choices.

He stated that people are adaptable and can adjust to new habits, just as easily as they can adopt unhealthy ones.

Tickets must be booked online (https://e-services.worcestershire.gov.uk/LibraryEvents/EventDetails.aspx?id=6229) for the free talk.