Thaler And Sunstein Decision-Making Process Analysis

Intro:
Thaler and Sunstein provide a framework for decision making that can be applied and used across the board for health, wealth, and happiness, as well as other facets of life. They introduce behavioral economics to explain how decisions can be influenced so that a specific outcome is chosen. To lay the foundation for the decision making stage, Thaler and Sunstein establish the significance of a choice architect. A choice architect has the responsibility for organizing the context in which people make decisions (Thaler & Sunstein, 2). According to Thaler and Sunstein being a choice architect requires planning and knowledge, as the architect ultimately chooses an arrangement or environment that will provide individuals with the autonomy
To fully appreciate and understand a nudge, Thaler and Sunstein also introduce the concept of libertarian paternalism. The libertarian portion of their strategy lies in the straightforward insistence that, in general, people should be free to do what they like and to opt out of undesirable arrangements if they want to do so. They use the term libertarian to modify the word paternalism so that libertarian paternalism together means liberty-preserving. The paternalistic portion of their strategy lies in the claim that it is legitimate for choice architects to try to influence people’s behavior in order to make their lives longer, healthier, and better (Thaler & Sunstein, 5). What they are trying to argue is for self-conscious efforts, by people in the private and government sectors, to maneuver people’s choices in directions that will improve their lives. As choice architects, we have the opportunity to nude people toward what is better for them, this is libertarian paternalism. A choice architect can be anyone who chooses to take on the task of improving a situation for the good of society, but ultimately allowing others to make that improvement, of course with guidance and complete freedom. The choice architect will present choices and frame them in a way that will affect the decisions made. For example; Winn-Dixie offers a fuel perks reward program. For every $50 spent at the grocery store a customer will receive $0.10 off a gallon of gas. If the customer wishes to save on fuel costs and take advantage of the fuel perks program, they will be nudged into purchasing gas at specific gas stations as only a select few stations participate in the loyalty