President Obama has signed a new executive order authorizing Federal agencies to perform behavioral studies on American citizens. The studies, which will be performed without express permission from participants, are designed to advance government initiatives by “nudging” citizens toward certain behaviors and choices.
“A growing body of evidence demonstrates that behavioral science insights — research findings from fields such as behavioral economics and psychology about how people make decisions and act on them — can be used to design government policies to better serve the American people,” reads the executive order, released on Tuesday.