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Despite a serious need for sustainable alternative water supplies in many parts of the world, public opposition remains a barrier to implementing solutions such as safe wastewater recycling schemes. Here, we compared two strategies to increase acceptance of recycled water: default nudges and informing choices. Experiment 1 (N = 81) showed that defaults increased acceptance of recycled water. Experiment 2 (N = 142) replicated the effect but also indicated that weak educational interventions (simple infographics) interacted with confidence, such that those who switched from the default option had measurably higher confidence in their choice when given the infographic. Experiment 3 (N = 146) suggested that in a college undergraduate sample, strong educational interventions (educational videos) eliminated the effect of nudges on recycled water acceptance, increased acceptance, increased knowledge of recycled water, and also interacted with confidence in the same way observed in Experiment 2. Experiment 4 (N = 271) showed that strong educational interventions can also increase recycled water acceptance in an MTurk sample. Since both education and defaults may be effective, we suggest that future work would benefit from cost-benefit analyses between strategies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective Overprescribing of opioids has contributed to the opioid epidemic. Electronic medical records systems can auto-populate a default number of opioid pills that are prescribed at time of discharge. The aim of this study was to examine the association between lowered default pill counts with changed prescribing practices after cardiac surgery. Methods On May 18, 2017, the default number of pills prescribers see in electronic medical records in the Yale New Haven Health System was lowered from 30 to 12. Patients undergoing coronary artery grafts, valve surgeries, and thoracic aortic aneurysm surgeries were included in this study. Data were gathered and stratified into 2 groups: 1 year before and 1 year following the default change. The amount of opioid prescribed was compared between the 2 groups. Results A total of 1741 patient charts were reviewed, 832 before the change and 909 after the change. Significant changes were seen in prescribing practices, where the average amount of opioid prescribed was about 25% lower after the change. This amounted to about 15 fewer pills of 5 mg morphine for each patient. A linear regression model adjusting for other factors determined a prescribing difference of 75.2 morphine milligram equivalents per prescription (P Conclusions Lowering the default opioid pill count in electronic medical record systems is a simple intervention that may modify prescribing behavior to promote judicious prescribing of opioids after cardiac surgery.

American Society of Anesthesiologists guidelines recommend that anesthesiologists revisit do-not-resuscitate orders preoperatively and revise them if necessary based on patient preferences. In patients without do-not-resuscitate orders or other directives limiting treatment however, “full code” is the default option irrespective of clinical circumstances and patient preferences. It is time to revisit this approach based on (1) increasing understanding of the power of default options in healthcare settings, (2) changing demographics and growing evidence suggesting that an expanding subset of patients is vulnerable to poor outcomes after perioperative cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and (3) recommendations from multiple societies promoting risk assessment and goal-concordant care in older surgical patients. The authors reconsider current guidelines in the context of these developments and advocate for an expanded approach to decision-making regarding CPR, which involves identifying high-risk elderly patients and eliciting their preferences regarding CPR irrespective of existing or presumed code status.

We study capital management and investment decisions of a value-maximizing insurance firm with a broad ownership base in a discrete-time setting. We highlight that the valuation measure used to determine the value of the cash flows to shareholders should reflect two economically sound requirements: market-consistency and indifference to idiosyncratic risk. We provide a rigorous construction of this economic valuation measure and use it to derive the optimal capital-management and investment strategies that realize the economic value of the firm. Our objective is to shed light on the controversial question of whether insurers should invest in liquidly-traded risky assets. Decomposing firm value into net tangible value, default option value, and franchise value, we find that whether to take investment risk is optimal or not essentially depends on the tradeoff between the impact of investment risk on the owner’s option to default and on the firm’s franchise value. A variety of numerical examples illustrate how changes in the regulatory and financial environment can result in materially different optimal investment strategies.

Purpose Labeling something as “impossible” can be performative and deprive businesses from promising ideas, by activating limiting mental models and self-fulfilling prophecies. Adopting an “everything may be(come) possible” thinking as the default option can lead businesses to discover unexpected and valuable directions and make the world a better place. This paper aims to propose practical insights to harness the power of “impossible” thinking such as considering impossibility as a current and temporary state, adopting an unconventional mindset and redirecting the reflection on what is needed to make the idea possible. Falling in love with any impossible target is obviously not without downsides. Design/methodology/approach This paper discusses conceptually how adopting an impossible thinking approach can help business to discover unexpected and valuable directions. Findings The authors caution managers on the inappropriate use of the “impossible” label that can be performative, activate a limiting mental model, lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy and deprive businesses from promising ideas. This paper proposes ways by which the power of impossible thinking can be harnessed to make a difference. Research limitations/implications Discarding impossible ideas seems perfectly justified from a logical or cultural viewpoint while constituting simultaneously a bad decision from a business viewpoint. The generalization of authors’ insight must be undertaken with caution, given that harnessing the power of impossible does not mean to fall in love with any impossible idea. Practical implications Learning to not neglect seemingly impossible options and sometimes to reveal them can lead to sustainable competitive advantages. Social implications While generating a competitive advantage for the concerned companies, implementing impossible ideas can also contribute to make the world a better place. Originality/value The authors identify some mechanisms that can make impossible thinking beneficial and profitable for companies. These insights can help managers to nurture an environment that facilitates the emergence of pathbreaking advances.

Individuals make inconsistent, irrational financial decisions mainly due to disproportionate time preferences. Bias and procrastination prevail. Along with a default option, there is a need for a customized plan with individuals' socio-cultural and economic status. Low participation rates are mainly due to a lack of awareness of pension literacy and behavioral aspects. Individuals have failed to create a corpus to protect themselves for retirement as there is a lack of awareness to suitability of a plan to one’s situation, failure to measure income adequacy at retirement, not able to identify the link between contributions made and pension drawdown, etc. Age and gender differences prevail strongly. Defined contribution plans are likely to dominate in global pension model in the years to come. Individuals are ready to own their risk but have little control and knowledge to cover themselves. Frequent timely and prompt advice or counseling from investment advisors will enable participants to understand the need, identify suitable options and schemes, and provide themselves with sustainable long-term savings. This should convert willingness to participate to real participation. Keywords: Financial literacy, Pension knowledge, Defined contribution pension plans (DCP), irrational decision making, demographics.

In January 2020, Hawai‘i became the second state with a healthy default beverage (HDB) law, requiring restaurants to offer HDBs with their children’s meals. This observational study presents baseline characteristics of restaurants with a children’s menu and meal, and describes pre-law beverage options to inform future HDB policy language, implementation, and evaluation. Between November and December 2019, data were collected from a statewide sample of unique restaurants (n=383) with health inspection permits. Restaurants were assessed separately for a children’s menu and meal using website reviews, telephone calls, and in-person visits. Meals were evaluated in February 2020 for pre-law beverage type and compliance. Logistic regression was used to estimate the likelihood of having a children’s menu and meal. Most of the restaurants were full-service (70.2%) and non-chains (67.9%). While 49.3% of restaurants had a children’s menu, only 16.7% had a meal. Significant predictors of having a children’s menu were being full-service (OR=2.09; p=0.004), national/international (OR=5.32; p

Risk adjustment of quality measures using clinical risk factors is widely accepted; risk adjustment using social risk factors remains controversial. We argue here that social risk adjustment is appropriate and necessary in defined circumstances and that social risk adjustment should be the default option when there are valid empirical arguments for and against adjustment for a given measure. Social risk adjustment is an important way to avoid exacerbating inequity in the health care system.

Classical value-based decision theories state that economic choices are solely based on the value of available options. Experimental evidence suggests, however, that individuals’ choices are biased towards default options, prompted by the framing of decisions. Although the effects of default options created by exogenous framing – such as how choice options are displayed – are well-documented, little is known about the potential effects and properties of endogenous framing, that is, originating from an individual’s internal state. In this study, we investigated the existence and properties of endogenous default options in a task involving choices between risky lotteries. By manipulating and examining the effects of three experimental features – time pressure, time spent on task and relative choice proportion towards a specific option –, we reveal and dissociate two features of endogenous default options which bias individuals’ choices: a natural tendency to prefer certain types of options (natural default), and the tendency to implicitly learn a default option from past choices (learned default). Additional analyses suggest that while the natural default may bias the standard choice process towards an option category, the learned default effects may be attributable to a second independent choice process. Overall, these investigations provide a first experimental evidence of how individuals build and apply diverse endogenous default options in economic decision-making and how this biases their choices.

In this paper, we examine the political gridlock in reforming the Economic and Monetary Union. We utilize a two–stage game with imperfect information in order to study the optimal sequencing. The main results are: first, optimal sequencing requires for incompliant Member States a default option in stage–two, which in principle is related to the today's fiscal architecture (EMU-I). Second, we show that compliant countries prefer a reform equilibrium today if and only if they have a free choice about the preferred fiscal architecture at the end — either EMU-II with binding European coordination or EMU-I related to Maastricht. Noteworthy, our sequencing approach works for any design of the EMU-II architecture.

Purpose This study aims to explore the effect of two digital nudging technologies that is overt digital nudging (ODN) and covert digital nudging (CDN), on consumers’ choices of nudged options in the context of online customization systems (OCS). Design/methodology/approach This paper designed a 2 (ODN: yes/no) by 2 (CDN: yes/no) full factor between-subject lab experiment in the context of online travel package customization. This paper collected and analyzed the number of nudged options (the intermediate options) of choices among consumers in these four scenarios. Findings ODN and CDN have positive effects on consumers’ choices of nudged options in online customization (OC). In addition, mixed nudge (a combination of ODN and CDN) has a more significant effect on consumers’ choices of nudged options in OC than using CDN only. Research limitations/implications This study focused only on the choice behavior of consumers in the customization context and did not analyze their attitude change. The present study used vendor recommendation as the proxy variable of ODN and default option as the proxy variable of CDN. A future study could explore other instances of ODN and CDN. Practical implications This study explores the effects of digital nudging technologies in the context of OCS. The study provides clear guidance for customization vendors on whether to use digital nudging tools and their combinations, and which tools should be preferred. Social implications Vendors can adopt digital nudging technology to persuade consumers to choose nudged options. This nudging effect can make consumers’ choices predictable and less uncertain, thus adding profits for vendors. Originality/value First, the study focuses on the impact of digital nudging on consumers’ choices and enriches the understanding of the impact of customization system design on consumers’ choices. Second, this paper put forward a new classification method for digital nudging and proposed, respectively, the effect mechanisms on consumers’ customization choices. Third, this study explores the effect of combining multiple nudging tools in OC context on consumers’ choices, which deepens the understanding of the interactive effects of different types of nudging tools.

Hypothetical Bias (HB) is an ongoing concern for welfare estimates generated from stated preference approaches. Employing a default option has been shown to affect decision-making and outcomes in a...

In cell biology, pharmacology and toxicology dose-response and concentration-response curves are frequently fitted to data with statistical methods. Such fits are used to derive quantitative measures (e.g. EC20 values) describing the relationship between the concentration of a compound or the strength of an intervention applied to cells and its effect on viability or function of these cells. Often, a reference, called negative control (or solvent control), is used to normalize the data. The negative control data sometimes deviate from the values measured for low (ineffective) test compound concentrations. In such cases, normalization of the data with respect to control values leads to biased estimates of the parameters of the concentration-response curve. Low quality estimates of effective concentrations can be the consequence. In a literature study, we found that this problem occurs in a large percentage of toxicological publications. We propose different strategies to tackle the problem, including complete omission of the controls. Data from a controlled simulation study indicate the best-suited problem solution for different data structure scenarios. This was further exemplified by a real concentration-response study. We provide the following recommendations how to handle deviating controls: (1) The log-logistic 4pLL model is a good default option. (2) When there are at least two concentrations in the no-effect range, low variances of the replicate measurements, and deviating controls, control values should be omitted before fitting the model. (3) When data are missing in the no-effect range, the Brain-Cousens model sometimes leads to better results than the default model., Archives of toxicology;94

Despite their popularity and ease of use, SMS-based authentication tokens are arguably one of the least secure forms of two-factor authentication. This does not imply, however, that it is an invalid method for securing an online account. The current security landscape is very different from that of two decades ago. Regardless of the critical nature of an online account or the individual who owns it, using a second form of authentication should always be the default option, regardless of the method chosen. In the wake of a large number of leaks and other intrusions, there are many username and password combinations out there in the wrong hands that make password spraying attacks cheap and easy to accomplish.

This paper explains Endowment Effect, Loss Aversion and Status Quo Bias as part of anomalies that Kahneman explained. Endowment effect results as people tend value something more precious when they own the good. Loss Aversion, when people put weight on losing higher than winning. Status Quo Bias, people tendency to stick on default option rather than finding other options. It also provides with evidence and experimental research that had been conducted by researcher focusing in the field of the study. Some examples also discussed to broadening the understanding in the topic

We introduce two novel matching mechanisms, Reverse Top Trading Cycles (RTTC) and Reverse Deferred Acceptance (RDA), with the purpose of challenging the idea that the theoretical property of strategy-proofness induces high rates of truth-telling in economic experiments. RTTC and RDA are identical to the celebrated Top Trading Cycles (TTC) and Deferred Acceptance (DA) mechanisms, respectively, in all their theoretical properties except that their dominant-strategy equilibrium is to report one’s preferences in the order opposite to the way they were induced. With the focal truth-telling strategy being out of equilibrium, we are able to perform a clear measurement of how much of the truth-telling reported for strategy-proof mechanisms is compatible with rational behaviour and how much of it is caused by confused decision-makers following a default, focal strategy without understanding the structure of the game. In a school-allocation setting, we find that roughly half of the observed truth-telling under TTC and DA is the result of naive (non-strategic) behaviour. Only 14–31% of the participants choose actions in RTTC and RDA that are compatible with rational behaviour. Furthermore, by looking at the responses of those seemingly rational participants in control tasks, it becomes clear that most lack a basic understanding of the incentives of the game. We argue that the use of a default option, confusion and other behavioural biases account for the vast majority of truthful play in both TTC and DA in laboratory experiments.

This paper analyzes whether nudging has a relevant effect on financially literate individuals, even if these individuals are professionals with extensive experience of finance and pensions. The paper presents the results of a field experiment with employees of a leading life and pensions company in Spain. The results of the experiment show that financial literacy and awareness of the importance of saving are not enough for individuals to act. Even with pension plan experts, the combination of two types of instruments is necessary: rational instruments, such as financial literacy and awareness of the economic implications of retirement, and nudging, which moves individuals to action in a meaningful way. In this case, an effective approach is to use the default option to increase long-term saving patterns. The Ahorra+ program, which was implemented in 2016 with 282 employees and in 2017 with 405 employees, significantly increases voluntary savings and helps people prepare for retirement.

The effect of COVID-19 on supply chains is introduced and some parallels are drawn with its effects on education and research. The default option in education seems to be distance education, which is already difficult for colleges and universities, but much more so for K-12. The effect of COVID-19 on research is much more varied. Some areas, like health sciences, are intensified while others, such as academic research, are anticipating declines in activity. It is expected that international graduate students will be more adversely affected than other groups. Some thoughts on the “new normal” are presented.

Regulation of natural monopolies implies strict adherence to the legislation that does not take into account the variety of circumstances of activities and the possible transactions organization options. The litigation between the "Rosneft" and "Sakhalin Energy" companies about the access to the gas pipeline, which connects the gas field in the North of the Sakhalin Island with the liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in the Southern part of the Island, is analyzed. It is shown that consideration of a broader range of institutional alternatives of the gas transportation organization through an insulated pipeline is necessary. The basis of the regulator decisions is the existence of market for gas transportation services, which in fact is not (and should not be) the default option. An approach to such situations analysis is proposed, it allows covering a wide range of institutional alternatives that could provide a higher level of social welfare. The Grossman-Hart model of incomplete contracts and its verification on real data is used for the demonstration that a simple decision to allow an isolated pipeline access, when the participants of the transaction are independent, can lead to a decrease of the public welfare, compared with alternatives involving integration.

With the ubiquity and prevalence of advanced technologies in society, transactions have become increasingly digital, requiring new user identity verification mechanisms. Electronic identification (eID) enables user identity authorization in online environments. Although eID plays a central role in government initiatives worldwide to digitalize citizen transactions, eID adoption remains surprisingly low. Drawing on digital nudging theory and e-government literature, we examine how eID adoption can be increased by changing the decision environment in which users choose eID. In a controlled experiment with 161 participants, we investigate the effect of default options (eID vs. offline ID as default) and popularity signals (presence vs. absence of social proof) on users’ eID adoption behavior. Both nudges increase eID adoption, but default options are a double-edged sword as they simultaneously fuel privacy concerns towards the government, attenuating the effect of default option on eID adoption. These concerns can be mitigated by adding social proof cues.

While modern fully mechanized ground-based systems are a default option for safe and productive harvesting, they have always been limited by terrain factors such as slope, soil strength, and roughn...

© 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. The authors tested two interventions to improve retirement savings investment decisions. In an incentive-compatible experiment, 459 participants engaged in a task simulating their working life. Periodically during the simulation, participants chose between different investment options. The authors examined the effectiveness of a “nudge” by manipulating the default option and the effectiveness of a “signpost” by manipulating the display of a pictograph summarizing the expected return of each option. Participants often followed the default option, particularly when it was “smart” (i.e., became more conservative as retirement approached) and when presented together with dynamic pictographs (i.e., updated each year assuming the investment was held until retirement). Those most likely to make optimal choices (i.e., consistent with the life cycle model) were presented with a smart default or dynamic pictographs. These findings reveal how different choice architecture interventions can be used to positively influence behavior. Retirement funds and regulators can support retirement savings decisions by the provision of smart defaults and better risk information in the form of pictographs.

The goal of the article is to criticise neoclassical economics from the behavioural economics perspective on the example of Poland’s reform of the retirement system (the possibility of earlier retirement). The creators of the reform assume that people are rational and will choose the best option and save enough for retirement. Thanks to conclusions from psychology we know that people cannot discount utility in time, but they behave in accordance with hyperbolic discounting. This situation leads to the conflict between preferences in time. To resolve this conflict, the concept of multiple selves is presented. Different preferences in time are not the problem for neoclassical economics, which assumes that people choose what is best for them (revealed preferences). The criticism of this assumption is presented along with the limitations of perceiving rationality in the instrumental sense. Thanks to axiomatic assumptions, neoclassical economists could dismiss conclusions from behavioural economics which concerns human irrationality. It proves that people do not always make the best choices, which is observable on the example of people who take early retirement. The concept of libertarian paternalism is presented as a way of helping people to make the “right” choices. The possibility of early retirement is presented as the default option. The author comes to the conclusion that this state is a flawed choice architecture because, despite its negative consequences, many people will choose early retirement.

This paper describes the design and analysis of a web-based choice experiment that examines how the demand for earthquake protection in Quebec and British Columbia is influenced by the default option and the structure of the insurance plan. Homeowners in both provinces were given the opportunity to purchase protection against earthquake losses when presented with one of the following options: the current private insurance plan, a high deductible private insurance plan, and a proposed public-private risk pool. The default frame was changed so the homeowner could either opt-in by purchasing this coverage or opt-out of being given this protection and receiving a premium discount. Assigning participants to a public-private risk pool rather than the current private insurance plan increases the likelihood of purchasing earthquake protection by 151%. The opt-out frame leads to a likelihood greater than 1.6 of purchasing coverage relative to the opt-in frame when given the same plan structure. The policy implications of this finding are discussed. Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.

Objectives\ud To examine whether the phrasing of a hospital appointment invitation influences patient preference to attend in person or by video. The study also explores patient capabilities, opportunities, and motivations to attend video consultations.\ud \ud Design\ud A randomized controlled trial followed by a cross-sectional survey.\ud \ud Methods\ud Participants (1,481 total, 780 females) were residents of the United Kingdom who self-identified as being diagnosed with a chronic disease. Participants considered one of three hypothetical invitations. In one group, participants were invited to attend in person. Those in another group were invited to attend by video. These participants could either accept the invitation or request the other option. In the final ‘active choice’ group, participants were asked to choose to attend either in-person or by video appointment. Then, all participants responded to open- and closed-ended items about attending video consultations.\ud \ud Results\ud When the default option was in person, 25% of participants chose video consultation, compared with 41% in the active choice group (RR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.37–1.99, p < .001) and 65% in the default video group (RR = 2.60, 95% CI: 2.20–2.96, p < .001). Closed-ended responses suggested that younger patients and those with previous experience were more likely to prefer video consultations. Most open-ended responses contained themes about opportunities, followed by motivations and then capabilities.\ud \ud Conclusions\ud Patients are more likely to express a preference to attend by video when video is the default option. The real-world effectiveness of this intervention is more likely to be realized where hospitals also support patient capabilities, opportunities, and motivations.

This chapter reviews the literature on the interaction of formal and informal institutions and undertakes empirical tests for the validity of claims about the substitutive role of informal institutions. We address two questions: ‘what works when the formal institutions do not?’ and ‘to what extent do formal institutions constitute real constraints in South East European societies, characterised by strong hold of personalised trust and reliance on personal connections.’ To answer these questions, we analyse survey data from eight countries of South East Europe (SEE). When formal rules fail to be effective, social norms of reliance on ‘trusted people and connections’ predominate as a default option, alongside the complexity of factors surrounding the workings of informal networks that channel and enable such interactions.

This article evaluates the impact of two nudges on stimulating the use of doggy bags in restaurants. We run a field experiment at 14 restaurants in the province of Turin (Italy). In the first group of restaurants, we manipulated the descriptive social norm. In a second group we changed the default option - whereby customers asked for the doggy bag - by instead directing the waiter to automatically deliver the doggy bag unless told not to. A third group of restaurants was used as a control with no intervention. We find that the social norm intervention led to a sizeable increase in the use of doggy bags, while the default manipulation had a non-statistically significant impact.

This paper reviews eight software packages when estimating asymmetric GARCH models (from their default option). We consider the numerical consistency of GJR-GARCH, TGARCH, EGARCH and APARCH estimations with Normal and Student distributions as well as out-of-sample forecasting accuracy, using the model confidence set procedure. We show that results are clearly software-dependent for both asymmetric volatility models, especially for the t-ratios. The out-of-sample forecast results show that the differences in estimating symmetric and asymmetric GARCH models imply slight differences in terms of forecast accuracy, not statistically significant, except in few cases from the QLIKE loss function. Further, the results indicate that the different specifications of the asymmetric GARCH-type models used by the different packages appear to have no significant effect on their forecast accuracy.

Digital firms attract consumers and collect their data by offering service enhancements and data security. These require separate types of investment. In light of the GDPR, data collection now requires explicit consumer consent, i.e. opt-in. This changes the consumer default option and the data provision decision when consumers are loss averse. We examine the consequences for investment. We set out the conditions under which opt-in increases both types of investment and when security comes at the expense of service quality. We further find that most consumer types gain, even when service quality falls.

Objectives: To describe the extent to which local guidelines for admission to UK midwifery units align with national guidance; to describe variation in individual admission criteria; and to describe the extent to which alongside midwifery units (AMUs) are the default option for eligible women. Design: National cross-sectional survey. Setting: All 122 UK maternity services with midwifery units, between October 2018 and February 2019. Outcome measures: Alignment of local admission guidelines with national guidance (NICE CG190); frequency and nature of variation in individual admission criteria; percentage of services with AMU as default birth setting for eligible women. Results: Admission guidelines were received from 87 maternity services (71%), representing 153 units, and we analysed 85 individual guideline documents. Overall, 92% of local admission guidelines varied from national guidance; 76% contained both some admission criteria that were ‘more inclusive’ and some that were ‘more restrictive’ than national guidance. The most common ‘more inclusive’ admission criteria, occurring in 40-80% of guidelines, were: explicit admission of women with parity ≥4; aged 35-40yrs; with a BMI 30-35kg/m2; selective admission of women with a BMI 35-40kg/m2; Group B Streptococcus carriers; and those undergoing induction of labour. The most common ‘more restrictive’ admission criteria, occurring in around 30% of guidelines, excluded women who: declined blood products; had experienced female genital cutting; were aged Conclusions: The variation in local midwifery unit admission criteria found in this study represents a potentially confusing and inequitable basis for women making choices about planned place of birth. A review of national guidance may be indicated and where a lack of relevant evidence underlies variation in admission criteria, further research by planned place of birth is required.

Mass media routinely present data on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) diffusion with graphs that use either a log scale or a linear scale. We show that the choice of the scale adopted on these graphs has important consequences on how people understand and react to the information conveyed. In particular, we find that when we show the number of COVID‐19 related deaths on a logarithmic scale, people have a less accurate understanding of how the pandemic has developed, make less accurate predictions on its evolution, and have different policy preferences than when they are exposed to a linear scale. Consequently, merely changing the scale the data is presented on can alter public policy preferences and the level of worry about the pandemic, despite the fact that people are routinely exposed to COVID‐19 related information. Providing the public with information in ways they understand better can help improving the response to COVID‐19, thus, mass media and policymakers communicating to the general public should always describe the evolution of the pandemic using a graph on a linear scale, at least as a default option. Our results suggest that framing matters when communicating to the public.

Objective To determine whether a prefilled online grocery shopping (default) cart improves the nutritional quality of groceries purchased compared with receiving nutrition education (NE). Design Longitudinal study. Setting Three food pantries in the US. Participants Thirty-eight adults with low income. Intervention Groceries were purchased online for 5 consecutive weeks. After a baseline shopping trip, participants were randomized to receive NE or a nutritionally balanced prefilled online grocery shopping cart (ie, default cart) before shopping (from week 1 [T1] to week 4 [T4]). Main Outcome Measures Diet quality (Healthy Eating Index [HEI–2015] scores), energy, and energy density of each online cart (ie, grocery purchases). Analysis Piecewise linear mixed-effects models. Results From baseline to T1, HEI–2015 scores in the default condition significantly increased (95% confidence interval [CI], 9.79–23.39), whereas total calories (95% CI, −10,942 to −1,663) and energy density (95% CI, −0.70 to −0.45) significantly decreased compared with NE. Improved HEI–2015 scores were maintained through T4. Calories and energy density increased from T1 to T4 in the default condition, but values remained lower (ie, more healthful) than the NE condition. In the NE condition, outcomes did not significantly change during the intervention. Conclusions and Implications Providing an online default cart may improve the nutritional quality of grocery purchases. However, future research is warranted to assess whether adding a second nudge later in the intervention or combining the NE and default cart further promotes healthy purchasing behavior.

Default options are an increasingly common tool used by organizations, managers, and policymakers to guide individuals’ behavior. We wondered whether the known preference for default options could constitute a nudge to achieve more equitable or more efficient results. Combining with event-related potentials, we found that both the default option and distributive justice contributed significantly to decision-making. The N200s and P300s were extracted using the tensor decomposition, which showed superiority in terms of capturing multi-domain features. The results demonstrated that greater brain activity associated with conflict monitoring was elicited in the trade-off between equity and efficiency when the default could not represent a socially desirable action. Besides, participants attached more motivational/affective significance to equitable defaults than inequitable default options. Further, individuals with larger neural response differences between equitable and inequitable defaults appeared to be more inequity aversion in behavior. These findings offer a novel perspective on the role of default effects on distributive justice, while contributing to both organizational policy and practice by using the default to improve social welfare.

SummaryAttempts to mitigate the environmental impact of oil-palm expansion by improving production standards have been of limited success. An alternative approach aims at a better understanding of the factors that drive consumers to reduce excessive vegetable oil consumption. Our studies focused on consumers’ environmental knowledge as a potential determinant of palm oil consumption. They revealed critical limitations in consumers’ palm oil-related knowledge across different domains, study settings and assessment approaches. The more our participants knew about palm oil and its environmental consequences, the stronger were their reported intentions to reduce their consumption. This relationship was significantly stronger for subjective versus objective palm oil-related knowledge. In addition, we examined whether consumers can be stimulated to consult information about palm oil by making information access the default option. While this simple situational nudge promoted information access, we did not find it to significantly increase actual engagement with the information material. This result suggests that it might be necessary to complement default nudges for information access with other measures to enhance palm oil-related knowledge and to reduce palm oil consumption to more sustainable levels.

Texas’s current prison population consists of far more pretrial detainees than convicted criminals. Despite United States and Texas constitutional protections, the default rule in many jurisdictions, including Texas, detains misdemeanor and non-violent felony defendants unless they can post a monetary bond or get a surety to post the bond for them (“bail bond”) to obtain their release. Most pretrial detainees remain detained due not to their alleged dangerousness, but rather because they simply cannot afford to post bail (or get someone to post it for them). As a result, many pretrial detainees find themselves choosing between hamstringing their financial future or remaining in detention until trial. If Americans are serious about “honoring the presumption of innocence,” we must reform the way that misdemeanor and non-violent felony defendants are treated while awaiting trial. Rather than treat them as guilty and keep them in jail unless they can pay for their release, the standard should be to release them unless there is a very good reason for not doing so. By changing the default option from pretrial detention to pretrial release, many Texas judges will be more pre-disposed to release misdemeanor and non-violent felony defendants on conditions other than the posting of monetary bail. This switch will result in fewer people being detained simply because they cannot afford to be released—which will prevent adverse economic consequences to already disadvantaged citizens. Proposed reform has been discussed for decades. Reforming the bail system in Texas is a current, critical need. This criminal justice issue undermines the public’s faith in our system of justice and detrimentally affects the economic and social status of countless citizens who will ultimately be found not guilty. Doing nothing weakens our overall rule-of-law system and ultimately erodes the foundation upon which our society is built.

Objective:To compare the nutritional quality of children’s combination meals offered at large US chain restaurants characterised by three versions – default (advertised), minimum (lower-energy) and maximum (higher-energy).Design:We identified default children’s meals (n 92) from online restaurant menus, then constructed minimum and maximum versions using realistic additions, substitutions and/or portion size changes for existing menu items. Nutrition data were obtained from the MenuStat database. Bootstrapped linear models assessed nutrition differences between meal versions and the extent to which meal components (main dish, side dish, beverage) drove differences across versions. For each version, we examined the proportion of meals meeting the Guidelines for Responsible Food Marketing to Children.Setting:Twenty-six fast-food and fast-casual restaurants, in 2017.Participants:None.Results:Nutrient values differed significantly across meal versions for energy content (default 2443 kJ (584 kcal), minimum 1674 kJ (400 kcal), maximum 3314 kJ (792 kcal)), total fat (23, 17, 33 g), saturated fat (8, 6, 11 g), Na (1046, 915, 1287 mg) and sugar (35, 14, 51 g). The substitution of lower-energy beverages resulted in the greatest reduction in energy content (default to minimum, −418 kJ (−100 kcal)) and sugar (−20 g); choosing lower-energy side dishes resulted in the greatest reduction in total fat (default to minimum, −4 g), saturated fat (−1·1 g) and Na (−69 mg). Only 3 % of meals met guidelines for all nutrients.Conclusions:Realistic modifications to children’s combination meals using existing menu options can significantly alter a meal’s nutrient composition. Promoting lower-energy items as the default option, especially for beverages and side dishes, has a potential to reduce fat, saturated fat and/or sugar in children’s meals.

We study whether default options are mispriced in equity prices by employing a structural equity valuation model that explicitly takes into account the value of the option to default (or abandon the firm) and uses firm-specific accounting inputs. We implement our model on the entire cross-section of stocks and identify both over- and underpriced equity. An investment strategy that buys stocks that are classified as undervalued by our model and shorts overvalued stocks generates an annual 4-factor alpha of about 11% for U.S. stocks. The model’s performance is stronger for stocks with higher value of default option, such as distressed or highly volatile stocks. We find similar results in a sample of nine most highly capitalized developed markets.

Do consumers show a strong bias toward low deductible insurance plans, as many field studies imply? This paper reports on a controlled experiment intended to see whether subjects have a predisposition toward such plans and whether that preference is consistent when their default plan and premiums are changed. Subjects were presented with a scenario where they had to make a decision on whether to purchase a plan with a low deductible (LD) or high deductible (HD) when faced with an illness having a specified probability and cost. Participants had to choose between these plans in two rounds with the identical risk of an illness and specified premiums. If their default option was an LD plan in Round 1, then it was an HD plan in Round 2. The experiment did not show a strong bias toward low deductible health plans. Only slightly more than half of the respondents chose an LD plan even when it was optimal for them to do so. When faced with a default option that was switched in Round 2, 58% of the respondents chose the same plan as they did in Round 1, implying that some but not all subjects resisted the default option in their decision process. Subject choices were correlated with their responses to questions about risk aversion and a desire for peace of mind.

The use of various forms of big data have revolutionised scientific research. This includes research in the field of genetics in areas ranging from medical research to anthropology. Developments in this area have inter alia been characterised by the ability to sequence genome wide sequences (GWS) cheaply, the ability to share and combine with other forms of complimentary data and ever more powerful processing techniques that have become possible given tremendous increases in computing power. Given that many if not most of these techniques will make use of personal data it is necessary to take into account data protection law. This article looks at challenges for researchers that will be presented by the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, which will be in effect from May 2018. The very nature of research with big data in general and genetic data in particular means that in many instances compliance will be onerous, whilst in others it may even be difficult to envisage how compliance may be possible. Compliance concerns include issues relating to ‘purpose limitation’, ‘data minimisation’ and ‘storage limitation’. Other requirements, including the need to facilitate data subject rights and potentially conduct a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) may provide further complications for researchers. Further critical issues to consider include the choice of legal base: whether to opt for what is often seen as the ‘default option’ (i.e. consent) or to process under the so called ‘scientific research exception’. Each presents its own challenges (including the likely need to gain ethical approval) and opportunities that will have to be considered according to the particular context in question.

Purpose When consumers imagine themselves in various consumption scenarios, they can do so from the actor or the observer perspective. These different vantage points are known as imagery perspectives. This paper aims to investigate how imagery perspectives can influence consumers’ decisions to stay with the status quo (default option) or to switch to an alternative. Design/methodology/approach A series of four experimental design studies were conducted in both lab and online settings to study consumers’ switching tendency and choice. The empirical testing involved products, brands and services, including cameras (Study 1), vacation hotels (Study 2), toilet paper (Study 3) and food (Study 4). Findings The authors demonstrate that compared with actor imagery that tends to perpetuate the default product and brand choice, observer imagery increases consumers’ tendency to change and switch to new products and brands. Research limitations/implications Due to the methods used in empirical testing, the research results may lack generalizability. Practical implications Marketers spend a considerable amount of resources in an attempt to get consumers to switch products and brands. The results of this paper shed light on how marketers can promote switching behaviors through imagery perspective. Originality/value The research contributes to the streams of research in mental imagery, de-biasing and status quos, which have progressed in isolation from one another to date. This research is one of the first to investigate imagery perspective in the context of choice architecture.

Users of structural analysis software commonly apply the Rayleigh damping model as a default option for analyzing of structures. When a distributed plasticity model is utilized in the numerical models, the structural responses are not found to be sensitive to the damping models; even the Rayleigh damping model leads to the reasonable seismic results. Moreover, the lower bounds and upper bounds of the demands are sensitive to the type of damping model. In this paper, the effects of viscous damping models in the seismic demands of moment and concentrically braced steel frames are carefully investigated. For this purpose, seven viscous damping models are considered using the different forms of the stiffness matrices in the finite-element modeling. The declared structural systems are modeled against several strong ground motion records in OpenSees environment. Then, the seismic responses such as drifts, accelerations and base shears are compared for the aforementioned damping models. The main result of this research is that applying Rayleigh damping model, as a default option for structural analyzing software will produce underestimated responses. In addition, it is shown that no matter which type of stiffness matrix is used in the stiffness proportional damping model. Therefore, using initial stiffness matrix is cost efficient, particularly in time-consuming nonlinear analyses.

Risk assessment is a critical audit task, as auditors’ accuracy therein affects audit effectiveness and financial reporting quality, as well as audit efficiency. We propose that risk assessment accuracy for client risks that have changed from the prior year is affected by the manner in which auditors access prior year risk assessments, specifically whether they face a default option created by the prepopulation of current year workpapers with those assessments. We find that auditors with prepopulated (vs. blank) workpapers are less accurate for risks that have changed because they are more likely to stick with last year's assessments, and also to work fast. We then show that auditor characteristics reflecting a preference for accuracy reduce, but do not eliminate, these effects. Finally, we provide exploratory evidence that sticking and working fast are associated with, respectively, motivated reasoning and superficial processing. Collectively, these findings suggest the critical need for an intervention, and also have implications outside auditing.

A sovereign borrower is modelled as a rational calculator choosing levels of investment, consumption, and borrowing to maximize the expected level of a valuation function. The borrowing nation knows that it may opt to default on its debt. The lenders understand this and price their loans to fully compensate for the risk of default. A boundary defines a set of states below which the default option will be exercised. Close to that boundary both consumption and investment are suppressed. The influence of the cost of default is most clear via its effects on the marginal valuations of consumption and investment.

SeisFlows is an open source Python package that provides a customizable waveform inversion workflow and framework for research in oil and gas exploration, earthquake tomography, medical imaging, and other areas. New methods can be rapidly prototyped in SeisFlows by inheriting from default inversion or migration classes, and code can be tested on 2D examples before application to more expensive 3D problems. Wave simulations must be performed using an external software package such as SPECFEM3D. The ability to interface with external solvers lends flexibility, and the choice of SPECFEM3D as a default option provides optional GPU acceleration and other useful capabilities. Through support for massively parallel solvers and interfaces for high-performance computing (HPC) systems, inversions with thousands of seismic traces and billions of model parameters can be performed. So far, SeisFlows has run on clusters managed by the Department of Defense, Chevron Corp., Total S.A., Princeton University, and the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to examine the feasibility and initial efficacy of a novel default option intervention targeting nutritional quality of online grocery purchases within the financial constraints of food insecurity. METHODS Female undergraduates (n = 59) without eating disorder symptoms or dietary restrictions selected foods online with a budget corresponding to maximum Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. Before completing the task again, participants were randomly assigned to receive a $10 incentive for selecting nutritious groceries (n = 17), education about nutrition (n = 24), or a default online shopping cart containing a nutritionally balanced selection of groceries (n = 18) to which they could make changes. Nutritional quality was quantified by using the Thrifty Food Plan Calculator. RESULTS Compared with the education condition, participants in the default condition selected significantly more whole grains and fruits and foods lower in cholesterol, saturated fats, sodium, and overall calories. There were no statistically significant differences in nutritional outcomes between the incentive condition and the other two groups. CONCLUSIONS Findings provide initial support for the efficacy of a default option in facilitating healthier food choice behaviors within financial constraints.

BACKGROUND In this study, we applied behavioral economics to optimize elementary school lunch choices via parent-driven decisions. Specifically, this experiment tested an optimal defaults paradigm, examining whether strategically manipulating the health value of a default menu could be co-opted to improve school-based lunch selections. METHODS The design was a randomized comparison of optimal versus suboptimal (standard) default lunch menus for all first-graders in a school district for a period of 1 week. We hypothesized that making the default lunch option healthier, while providing parents the opportunity to access and choose from the standard school menu for their child, would yield more frequent selection of healthier items than when the default option was suboptimal. RESULTS Overall, 127 (93%) first-grade children's families participated. Among those families randomized to receive the nutritionally optimized default menu, all but one remained with these options; of those parents randomized to the standard menu (suboptimal default), all parents remained with these options (Χ2 = 123.06, df = 1, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS The mere positioning of choices, without restricting options, significantly affected which menu items the children received during the test period. Results are proof of concept for a strategy to increase health-promoting school lunch content, procedures, and policies.

Intergroup conflict is a persistent companion of the human existence. Why do individuals engage in intergroup conflict as often as they do? We propose that groups’ tendencies to present intergroup conflict as the default option and individuals’ tendencies to disproportionately choose default options fuel individual participation in intergroup conflict. Three experiments (total N = 893) that used incentivized economic games found support for this hypothesis. Designating intergroup conflict as the default option significantly increased individual participation in conflict relative to a no-default condition and to designating other behavioral options as defaults. The effects of defaults on intergroup conflict generalized across different social identities and levels of group identification. Our findings explain the stickiness of conflict and identify choice architecture as a potential solution: changing existing defaults can redirect intergroup behavior. We discuss promising directions for future research on the psychological mechanisms underlying these effects.