How do you control being nudged in decision engineering?
Sanjana Koushik ’22 NU and Jim Stellar
In a society that often recognizes and rewards speed and multitasking, the art of slowing down is becoming increasingly rare, but simultaneously vital. As we discussed in our second blog, decision engineering techniques influence how environments are systematically structured, catching people in moments of automatic decision-making to nudge them into desired behaviors and actions. This includes notifications, product placement, and default social norms that fit into our day-to-day lives. And as we make the “best” decisions for ourselves throughout our lives, our minds consistently operate on the two systems described by Kahneman: one that is quick and intuitive (System 1), and the other being slow and deliberate (System 2). The latter, which engages in introspection, allows us to pause and reflect, fostering greater understanding and typically better decision-making. Although never explicitly mentioned by Kahneman, we think of System 1 as coming out of the limbic system’s emotional functioning, which helps us to determine what is valuable (or not) to us. We think of System 2 as coming out of the neocortex with its symbolic logic, language, and longer-range planning.
Looking further into the brain’s structure, we came across this interesting blog on introspection by Neuroba, a new neuroscience technology-interface company, in Sweden that focuses on connecting people through shared consciousness and brain activity. The blog itself focuses on the idea that introspection is associated with the prefrontal cortex – an area thought to mediate reasoning, self-awareness and emotional regulation. Research finds that these introspective processes take input from the limbic system, as mentioned above, and integrates it with cognition in the neocortex so that thoughts and feelings become more balanced, nuanced, and slowed-down. It may have something to do with a large-scale brain circuit called the Default Mode Network, about which others in our group have written previous blogs, starting with one on college student stress.
We also note, as Kahneman emphasized in his work, that cognitive illusions stem from the complexity of System 1heuristics. While these mental shortcuts can aid decision-making, they also include many facets that can cloud rational judgment. Thus, slowing down and engaging in introspection ties together not only the facts of a situation but also our emotional responses to it. Slowing down puts decision-making in a longer term context that helps moderate those fast heuristics, like product placement in choosing your purchase. That makes our choices more intentional and better aligns our feelings with our long-term goals. It also seems to reconnect our emotions with our thinking, although it takes greater time and cognitive effort.
Looking more tactically, studies on the neuroscience of mindfulness and introspection have shown that this self-examination process is not just a mental exercise but a practice that can induce measurable changes in brain structure and function. Not surprisingly, meditation has been shown to increase the thickness of the prefrontal cortex and other brain regions associated with cognitive control, memory, and emotional regulation. Other longitudinal research suggests that long-term meditators display slower decline with age in cortical thickness compared to non-meditators. These neuroplastic changes demonstrate the benefit of consistent reflective practices for mental health, such as reduced anxiety, improved emotional balance, and greater cognitive flexibility. Additionally, these findings suggest that sustained introspection behaviors can build the innate structures to support deliberate System 2 processing, strengthening us against the automatic nudges that take advantage of our brain’s System 1.
As we age and gain more experience from our surroundings, the above ability to pause and connect present action with future consequence tends to become more robust. Developmental psychologist Erik Erikson explored the recurring yet difficult balance between short-term desires and long-term identity across the varying stages of development, and he found that each life stage creates different vulnerabilities to quick nudges, and also opportunities to strengthen introspection as a counterbalance. For example, a teenager navigates peer pressure, a mid-career professional decides whether to change jobs, and a retiree chooses where they should spend their time. Each stage requires us to develop awareness of the decision engineering around us, and respond by creating the time, space, and conditions for us to slow down and our System 2 to engage.
Nudges and decision engineering will always be part of the environments we live in, gradually shaping our choices, attention, and behavior across our lifetime. Our goal as individuals should not be to eliminate these influences (as they are unlikely to diminish), but to recognize them and strengthen our ability to reflect and make choices deliberately when posed with an external nudge. By practicing introspection and purposeful reflection, we can create the cognitive resiliency to work past our immediate impulses, and prioritize our deeper values and conscious goals. In our next blog, we will extend this idea to the realm of artificial intelligence, examining how AI learns to nudge us, its mimicking of human systems, and how we can respond with awareness and intention to the unknowns of intelligent technology.
