Choice Architecture
Applying the techniques of the psychology of decision making and behavioral science to improve decisions without limiting choices
How can we design
psychological interventions that help
improve our health decisions?
- Diet, sleep, and exercise
improvements - Doctor and patient behavior
change
Exercise Hacks at the Gym
Temptation bundling
Have a gym buddy
Incentives to return
Sleep Hacks: Cues and Feedback
- Study of 1,149 undergraduates at a competitive university
- Students wore Fitbits to track sleep, had goal to sleep at least
7 hours every weeknight - Intervention condition: bedtime cue, morning feedback, and
immediate reward for meeting goal - Results: interventions led to more sleep, less evening screen
time on streaming or scrolling, no change in time spent
studying, and higher GPAs for that semester
Happiness Hacks: Decisions
- Make happiness salient
- Track your activities
Happiness Hacks: Designs
- Nudges for sleep & good habits
- Avoid social media & upward comparisons
Happiness Hacks: Doing
- Spend time with people, especially helping others
- Choose experiences over things
- Give compliments
Principle of good choice architecture: Use defaults
- Encourage people to form plans:
- “When situation x arises, I will implement response y!”
- Desired behavior is linked to concrete future moment
or cue - Procrastination more difficult
- Forgetfulness less likely
Principles of Good Choice Architecture
- Use Defaults
Make the best option the automatic one so people don’t have to think.
People usually stick with the default.
2. Defaults via Planning Prompts
Help people pre-decide what they’ll do.
Example: Lay out work clothes the night before
👉 Makes the good choice easier in the moment
3. Encourage People to Form Plans
Turn vague goals into specific actions.
“I’ll study” → ❌
“I’ll study at 7pm in the library” → ✅
4. Give Feedback
Let people see what they’re doing in real time.
Medication bottle shows last opened time
Hospital handwashing trackers
👉 Feedback = awareness → better behavior
- Allow for Error
Design systems that help people recover from mistakes.
Seatbelt warning signals
Days labeled on pill boxes
👉 Assume people mess up—build around it
- Structure Complex Choices
Break big decisions into simple steps.
Checklists (like pilots use)
👉 Reduces overwhelm + mistakes
- Understand Mappings
Help people understand the real consequences of choices.
Example: Nutella markets “hazelnuts,” but hides unhealthy ingredients
👉 Make trade-offs clear and honest
8. Think About Incentives
Intrinsic motivation
Stimulation stemming from within oneself
Extrinsic motivation
Encouragement from an outside force
Example: Paying people to lower blood pressure or lose weight
👉 Key idea:
Extrinsic works short-term
Intrinsic is better for lasting change
Big Picture (1-line takeaway)
Good choice architecture = make the right choice easy, clear, and natural to stick with.
If you want, I can turn this into an even shorter 3-sentence cheat sheet for exams or give you real-life examples for each CHEAT SHEET
