The Effectiveness of Nudges in Promoting Prosocial Behavior Intention: Comparing Community vs. Individual Approaches and the Impact of Student-Designed Nudges

Abstract

This research is part of a larger project regarding a new upcoming teaching facility at Utrecht University (UU) in the city center, which aims to create a harmonious relationship between students and residents. One possible approach to achieve this goal is the use of nudges. Shifting the design of nudges to emphasize communal rather than individual benefits has the potential to align personal actions with broader societal goals. Hence, community nudges, which work as a two-dimensional construct, where the process involves people acting together, and the outcome promotes benefit for all (De Ridder, 2025), could help to stimulate cooperative collective action and increase prosocial behavior. This experimental study investigates whether community-nudges can enhance individuals’ prosocial behavior intentions. It was hypothesized that they will elicit stronger prosocial behavior intentions than individual-focused nudges. It was also hypothesized that nudges designed by students (community aspect) may be more effective in eliciting prosocial behavior intentions compared to those created by UU administrators. A 2x2 experimental design was used with 129 Utrecht University students being randomly assigned to one of the four conditions and filling out a survey. The results showed no statistical differences between the conditions. However, an exploratory analysis revealed that nudge evaluation predicted prosocial behavior intention, indicating that perception of the nudges like perspicuity, or efficiency may matter more than the content. Further research is needed to investigate that assumption and to determine whether differences between community-nudges and individual-focused nudges and emphasis on student-designed nudges can be made more salient.