Economia comportamental e educação: aplicação de Nudges em estudantes de graduação

Abstract

The nudge is an instrument used to direct human beings to better decisions, by, for example, making small changes in the framing of information. Nudges have an interventionist nature, capable of changing the behavior of agents in pre-established directions without, however, prohibiting any option or significantly changing economic incentives. Recently, there has been a growing interest in the use of instruments based on behavioral insights in teaching, however, in an embryonic way, which demonstrates a lack of research on the subject, especially in Brazil. The educational sector has presented problems in the limitation of learning, lack of interest and evasion. It is notorious, for example, the difficulty that some academics have in achieving the proposed curricular objectives, especially in courses where there are disciplines related to the exact sciences area (BRAGA; MIRANDA-PINTO; CARDEAL, 1997; ARANTES et al., 2021). Such difficulties also arise from the presence of cognitive biases, such as loss aversion, present bias and procrastination (JABBAR, 2011; LEAVER, 2016; PEREIRA, 2021). Behavioral guidelines, such as nudges applied in Education, can prove to be effective solutions, since research (ATAÍDE; LIMA; ALVES, 2006; CIRIBELLI; FERREIRA, 2014) points to their assertiveness in terms of improving student attendance in classes, their engagement with to studies and delivery of activities and consequent improvement of academic performance. Given the exposed scenario, two products were elaborated that show the relationship between Behavioral Economics and Education: a scientific article and a technological article. The scientific article aimed to evaluate, through an experiment developed with undergraduate students from a Brazilian HEI, whether the application of nudges as reminders and social norms provides better academic performance of university students. The use of nudges was justified by their pertinence and feasibility. Despite being relevant, the statistical tests did not show statistically significant differences between the control group and the treatment groups that received the interventions. This result can be explained by factors of social identity, microincentives, personification of nudges, frequency and timeline of sending messages. New scientific articles can integrate precepts from other social fields, such as sociology and ethnography, and include qualitative methodologies to understand behavioral interventions in the light of research subjects. It should be noted that the research shed light on necessary debates about the wide applicability and importance of correct structuring and intervention of behavioral incentives. The second product, the technological article, is exemplified as a practical guide regarding the methods used to apply behavioral guidelines. This guide serves as a basis for outlining public policies that provide greater engagement of students with educational institutions and consequently improve their quality of life in the context in question. The technical product has the potential to provide public and private entities with a tool for wide use of the Architecture of Choice that reduces the social and financial burdens caused by the limitations of the educational process.