48 pages • 1 hour read
Richard H. Thaler, Cass R. SunsteinNudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2008A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Introduction – Part 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1: “Humans and Econs”
Introduction Summary
Content Warning: In Chapter 1, Thaler and Sunstein cite statistics on homicide and suicide rates to demonstrate biases in perception.
Prior to the Introduction, Thaler and Sunstein provide a brief Preface to the “final edition” of their book. Published in 2021, the “final edition” is an updated and revised version of the original 2008 publication. They explain that they have included new chapters on concepts developed in the first edition or introduced in the updated version. They also hope to rectify a serious misconception regarding their views on organ donation. They unambiguously oppose “presumed consent,” an issue that will be explored in Chapter 13. They state that the title “final edition” is the result of their “commitment strategy” to refrain from endless revisions to the book in the years to come (xvi).
The Introduction opens with a thought experiment about a cafeteria manager posed with the problem of finding the optimal method for arranging the items in the lunch line. The ways she arranges the food will affect what the children eat. Thaler and Sunstein call her a choice architect. They write, “a choice architect has the responsibility for organizing the 
