Behavioural design

High school (ages 12+)
Thinking & Learning

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/behavioural-design

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the disciplinary nexus?Integrates principles from design, psychology, economics, and sociology
2. What is the core hypothesis?The design of artifacts and environments demonstrably influences human behaviour and decision-making
3. How does design make us do things?By adding clues and rules in places we use, such as putting fruit at eye level or making recycling bins easy to find, design can gently guide our actions.
4. Why do designers use behavioural design?They want to help people stay healthy, protect the planet, keep us safe, and make communities stronger by making good choices easier.

Choice Architecture: The practice of designing the environment in which people make decisions.
Cognitive Biases: Systematic patterns of deviation from norm or rationality in judgment.
Nudge: A subtle intervention that alters behaviour without forbidding options or significantly changing economic incentives.