Monday - September 21, 2015

urging people to think their way? gentle nagging. nudging.

Nudge theory (or Nudge) is a concept in behavioural science, political theory and economics which argues that positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions to try to achieve non-forced compliance can influence the motives, incentives and decision making of groups and individuals, at least as effectively – if not more ...

At a guess I’d say some of you know about this theory already. Isn’t news to you. I think many others may not, or maybe heard something in passing and didn’t give it any thought. It is after all, kind of a non story.

But it bothered me somewhat when I read almost a year ago, an article in one of our papers about the govt. using a nudging tactic to get folks into a frame of mind whereby a bit of mild nagging, nudging, would get them to go along with, whatever.  The article used smoking as one example where folks could be encouraged to quit through this “nudge” thing, without them feeling as if they had been forced or bullied.  I suppose that may not be a bad thing in the medical use if it works. If I may get personal about it, I have known a few people, two very well, who died as a result of smoking and it was not pretty.  And I speak as a former smoker of some 38 years on Lucky Strikes non filter.  How I managed to get away with what little bad effects I got, and got over, (but not entirely) I will never know.  Especially when I lost someone very close and he was only 46 when lung cancer took him. Damn, I was 6 years older and started before he did.  Why him with so much ahead and the plans he had? 
I didn’t mean to get myself side tracked.

OK, enough of that. You get the picture.  In fact, I’d bet there are a few of you, Drew for sure, will have researched this nudging thing before I even finished typing and posting it.  And I’m certain, well as much as one can be certain of anything, that for our Turtler, this is not new news at all.  Same for LyndonB, especially Lyndon with his career experience.

So anyway, overall and after reading the article which at the time I didn’t even think important enough to post, and then forgot about until yesterday when I found this headline, spread out all across one page.

David Cameron’s plan to drive out foreign thugs? A cosy chat to politely persuade them to leave the country

· Special unit tried to get inmates at Pentonville to agree to deportation
· Home Office letter says tactic seeks to encourage ‘early co-operation’
· More than 5,000 foreign criminals were kicked out of UK between 2014-15

By Martin Beckford, Home Affairs Editor For The Mail On Sunday

David Cameron is sending a crack team of experts into one of Britain’s toughest jails – to politely persuade foreign criminals to leave the country.
The Behavioural Insights Team visited Pentonville prison this summer to convince inmates to go along with deportation rather than launch costly appeals.

The unit uses psychological techniques known as ‘nudge theory’ to help people make better choices for themselves rather than forcing them to behave in a certain way.

The unlikely tactic at Pentonville is at an early stage, but it is thought members of the nudge unit spoke to foreign criminals about their attitudes to returning home, in an attempt to work out the best way to get them to comply.

Immigration officers are also stationed at the Victorian jail in North London – where criminals are often sent straight from courts in the capital after conviction – to find out where foreign inmates are from so they can be returned home as soon as possible.

Now here’s why I posted the article on Camron’s experiment and why it kinda bothers me. 
I read only recently a very short line or two, not even a paragraph, that a certain govt. official in the USA was very interested in this and had sent someone over here to “consult” on the subject.

Recognize any names here? Any cause to worry?  Not everyone agrees with the theory.

Nudge theory (or Nudge) is a concept in behavioural science, political theory and economics which argues that positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions to try to achieve non-forced compliance can influence the motives, incentives and decision making of groups and individuals, at least as effectively – if not more effectively – than direct instruction, legislation, or enforcement.

Nudge theory’s most celebrated influences include the formation of a British Behavioural Insights Team, often called the ‘Nudge Unit’, at the British Cabinet Office, headed by Dr David Halpern and US President Barack Obama’s appointment of Cass R. Sunstein as administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.  In Australia, the government of New South Wales established a Behavioural Insights community of practice.

The “Nudge” idea has been criticised. Dr Tammy Boyce, from public health foundation The King’s Fund, has said:
We need to move away from short-term, politically motivated initiatives such as the ‘nudging people’ idea, which are not based on any good evidence and don’t help people make long-term behaviour changes

mail on sunday

btw
It’s reported that there are some 5,000 foreign “offenders” at large on the streets of Britain after serving time behind bars.

And oh yeah, there was one guy from Eastern Europe, who murdered his wife and spent 8 yrs in jail in his home country.  He was released and within a few months showed up in England, but no record of previous crime due to no communication between police forces. Anyway, he wasn’t here a month before he killed someone. And ppl here are still against the DP.  I believe the victim was a 12 year old girl. And it isn’t an isolated example.

Last week a Polish immigrant was casing a neighborhood for a burglary, a friend of his hit another house but the one he entered was occupied by a woman alone with her two small children.  He stabbed her to death cos he could, neighbor heard screams and called cops, the second time that night for a call out. Wasn’t a neighborhood in bad place. Police on scene so quickly they caught the guy, with her two kids he’d taken.
In a case like that, I’d really appreciate it if cops were given the go ahead to just kill the bastard right there. 

Not too may hours before the killing, neighbors called about a suspicious guy hanging around the street.  They came and did speak to him but didn’t have anything to take him in for.  So they left.  And he murdered her shortly after. 

Posted by peiper     on 09/21/2015 at 08:30 AM   
Filed Under: • Big Brother •  
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