Walk the Walk: How a Simple Digital Nudge Could Shift Our Transportation Habits
You open Google Maps. You’re going somewhere just a few blocks away. The app loads all the information you need to get to where you want to go and it immediately shows you driving directions.
What if your go-to navigation app nudged you toward walking instead of driving? A new study by Harvard University researcher Dr. Jason Frerich explores how subtle design changes in Google Maps, like defaulting to walking directions, could meaningfully increase the likelihood that users choose to walk for short trips. This automatic default may seem inconsequential, but Frerich’s research suggests that it’s shaping more than just your route. It’s shaping your behavior. Especially for those who don’t walk much to begin with, these tiny tweaks in digital design could make a big difference in the way people travel. In a world where apps guide our daily choices, even the smallest design change can ripple out into significant behavioral impacts.
About the Author
Samantha Lau
Samantha graduated from the University of Toronto, majoring in psychology and criminology. During her undergraduate degree, she studied how mindfulness meditation impacted human memory which sparked her interest in cognition. Samantha is curious about the way behavioural science impacts design, particularly in the UX field. As she works to make behavioural science more accessible with The Decision Lab, she is preparing to start her Master of Behavioural and Decision Sciences degree at the University of Pennsylvania. In her free time, you can catch her at a concert or in a dance studio.
