An empirical approach for the development of nudges. How word asociations and network analysis help to detect priming words

Nowadays nudges are becoming an important part of the government policy toolbox, joining devices designed to get citizens to “think” about society’s problems. The question about how to make nudge strategies more effective remains still open. This research attempts to develop effective nudges by activating social norms in order to produce socially desirable behavior change. In the research we used two types of incentives, which activated social norms: moral motives for environmentally responsible behaviour and individuals’ sense of civic duty. The word association method was used to create new mental connections for each of two types incentives