Nudging people to pay their parking fines on time. Evidence from a cluster-randomized field experiment

The timely payment of municipal parking fines signifies people's acceptance of parking regulations, reduces administrative enforcement costs, and prevents additional late-payment fees for individuals. However, public administrations face challenges in enforcing the timely payment of parking fines. A large group of people fail to pay their fines on time, which requires additional enforcement actions that can result in extra late-payment costs and payment-related stress. In this study we collaborate with the Belgian city of Mechelen and the Behavioral Insights Team of the Flemish regional government to test the compounded effects of three communicative nudges. i.e., simplification, explicit penalty, and social norm, on the timely payment of parking fines. In a cluster-randomized field experiment, parking offenders received either the original notification letter, a simplified notification letter, a simplified notification letter accompanied by an explicit reference to the potential penalties, or a simplified notification letter accompanied by an explicit penalty and a social norm message. The results indicate that people can be nudged to pay their fines on time, but only when multiple nudges are combined and used simultaneously.</p

Rogers v. Robson: Increased Malpractice Liability for Insurance Defense Counsel, 14 J. Marshall L. Rev. 589 (1981)

Poster Presentationstatus: publishe

Trajectories of adaptive and disturbed identity dimensions in adolescence: developmental associations with self-esteem, resilience, symptoms of depression, and borderline personality disorder features

To advance our understanding of adolescents’ identity formation and how it may play into their psychological functioning, this study investigated developmental trajectory classes of adaptive and disturbed dimensions of identity formation, and whether adolescents belonging to different trajectory classes develop differently on self-esteem, resilience, symptoms of depression, and borderline personality disorder (BPD) features. Three-wave longitudinal data from 2,123 Flemish adolescents was used (54.2% girls; Mage = 14.64, range = 12–18 at T1). Results pointed to four trajectory classes of identity formation: adaptive identity, identity progression, identity regression, and diffused identity. The adaptive identity class presented with stable high levels of self-esteem and resilience, and stable low levels of symptoms of depression and BPD, whereas opposite results were obtained for the diffused identity class. The identity progression class reported an increase in self-esteem and resilience as well as a decrease in symptoms of depression and BPD, whereas opposite results were obtained for the identity regression class. These results emphasize that adaptive and disturbed dimensions of identity formation are closely related to markers of well-being and psychopathology among adolescents, and could help identify adolescents with an increased risk for negative psychological functioning or increased opportunity for positive psychological functioning

A guide to improve your causal inferences from observational data

True causality is impossible to capture with observational studies. Nevertheless, within the boundaries of observational studies, researchers can follow three steps to answer causal questions in the most optimal way possible. Researchers must: (a) repeatedly assess the same constructs over time in a specific sample; (b) consider the temporal sequence of effects between constructs; and (c) use an analytical strategy that distinguishes within from between-person effects. In this context, it is demonstrated how the random intercepts cross-lagged panel model can be a useful statistical technique. A real-life example of the relationship between loneliness and quality of life in adolescents with congenital heart disease is provided to show how the model can be practically implemented.status: Published onlin

Public managers’ trust in citizens and their preferences for behavioral policy instruments: evidence from a mixed-methods study

status: Published onlin

To nudge or not to nudge?:De mogelijkheden van gedragsinzichten en nudging als lokaal beleidsinstrument

Bij de meeste maatschappelijke uitdagingen waar lokale overheden zich voor geplaatst zien, spelen gedrag en gedragsbeïnvloeding een cruciale rol. Wil je als gemeente het zwerfvuil verminderen, de verkeersveiligheid in schoolomgevingen verhogen of mensen motiveren om de coronaregels te volgen, telkens zal je rekening moeten houden met het bewuste én het onbewuste keuzegedrag van burgers. Naast het arsenaal traditionele beleidsinstrumenten zoals regels, subsidies of communicatiecampagnes duiken plots nieuwe werktuigen op in de toolbox van lokale beleidsmakers. Zo maken overheden steeds meer gebruik van gedragswetenschappelijke inzichten in het beleidsproces, met nudging als het meest uitgesproken voorbeeld. Deze gedragswetenschappelijke omslag in beleid, beter bekend als de ‘behavioural turn’, manifesteert zich in de eerste plaats op het nationale en regionale bestuursniveau. Toch lijken nudges en soortgelijke gedragsgeïnformeerde interventies, die zo sterk focussen op het herinrichten van de directe leefomgevingen van burgers, juist bijzonder bruikbaar als lokaal beleidsinstrument. In deze bijdrage onderzoeken we dit potentieel en bieden we een antwoord op drie vragen. Wat is nudging? Welke meerwaarde kan nudging bieden voor lokale besturen? En hoe staan lokale beleidsmakers, en meer specifiek de Vlaamse (adjunct-) algemeen directeurs, tegenover dit onconventionele, innovatieve beleidsinstrument