[runarberg]

Can these effects be explained without inventing a new term? Because if they can then these studies didn’t really find anything did they?

Whenever I see a new term being introduced as an explanation I am hesitant to accept it, as it may turn out to just be explaining the planetary motions with epicycle, when the motions can be easier explained by moving the sun to the center of the solar system instead of the earth.

[dx034]

Not very scientific, but isn't it just laziness? Most people (including me) are too lazy to think about all the choices they could make, so they just stay with the default choice most of the time. Not because they actually prefer it, mainly because they never even read it.

[runarberg]

Indeed. Your alternative theory doesn’t require an extra construct, and instead uses a pretty established cognitive behavior (the tendency of inaction) to explain the same phenomenon. I would say your explanation has the advantage of Occam’s razor, whereas Nudge Theory doesn’t.