Synergistic effects of nudges and boosts in environmental education: Evidence from a field experiment

This study investigated the short-term and long-term impact of nudging and boosting within an environmental education program on students' environmental attitudes and energy-saving actions. We conducted a randomized assignment across primary and junior high schools, employing four study settings: board game-based environmental education without nudges or boosts (control); with nudges (setting energy-saving goals in a reflection session); with boosts (a game with a “tragedy of the commons” setting); and with both nudges and boosts. In the game with the “tragedy of the commons” setting, the specification was that pursuing self-interest would harm those of the entire group as well as one's own interests; the aim was to enhance environmental literacy by conveying the importance of cooperation through information. We found that students subjected to the boost became significantly more environmentally conscious in the game and set more goals in the goal-setting nudge task. A follow-up survey was conducted one- and three-months post-intervention. This revealed that students in the nudge-and-boost group, who set higher goals, displayed increased awareness of energy conservation, improved environmental attitudes, and greater adoption of energy-saving practices relative to the control group. The results suggest that combining nudges with boosts sustains the long-term effects of environmental education.