Why are Austrians more likely to donate their organs?

This picture holds the answer to why Austrians are more likely to donate their organs. Countries, like Austria, that have the opt-out organ donation option on license applications have much higher donation rates than countries with the opt-in option.

Or, consider this example. Would you prefer surgery with a 90% survival rate, or one with a 10% death rate? Despite all the math classes I took, I still prefer the first choice. Whether you want to make a lot of money or whether you truly want to help people make decisions that are in their best interest, how you describe your energy innovation is as important as the technical details. In this module you will design "choice architecture" for your energy innovation project.

The organ donation and surgery choice examples are classics, but choice architecture is also being applied to innovations for more sustainable energy. The company Opower is a great example. They are the ones behind new utility bills that compare your electricity usage to your neighbors'. This peer-pressure approach leads to a reduction in energy use and Opower has been very successful selling their services to utility companies. More information is available here http://opower.com/what-is-opower/reports/ and my bill is below. We're doing well compared with others in the area, maybe we should use more... 

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. - Shakespeare

 Choice Architecture

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Reading & Video

Read this blog post on "Choice Architecture: Designing Experiences that Influence Customer Behavior."

Watch these videos:

Pete Lunn on Framing Decisions

Dan Ariely; Are We In Control of Our Own Decisions

Tweet your epiphany (include "#150tons")

For more information

Beyond Nudges paper (Johnson et. al)

Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness [Paperback] Richard H. Thaler (Author), Cass R. Sunstein (Author)