Choice architecture

Who knew economic behaviorists could be so instrumental in helping us learn what encourages people to decrease energy use? In their book Nudge, Richard Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein describe the small triggers that influence our behaviors and call them "choice architecture".
A group of consumers was informed about their average energy consumption per household.
"In the following weeks, the above-average energy users significantly decreased their energy use; the below-average energy users significantly increased their energy use. The latter finding is called a boomerang effect, and it offers an important warning. If you want to nudge people into socially desirable behavior, do not, by any means, let them know that their current actions are better than the social norm."
The experiment gets even more interesting when a small, non-verbal signal is included with the information.
"Those households that consumed more than the norm received an unhappy emoticon, whereas those that consumed less than the norm received a happy emoticon. "
Subsequently,
"The big energy users showed an even larger decrease when they received the unhappy emoticon. The more important finding was that when the below-average energy users received the happy emoticon, the boomerang effect completely disappeared!"
When the information was combined with an emotional nudge the below-average users didn't adjust their use upward. This suggests a lot can be done with a well-chosen social nudge.
Do you believe a simple smiley face on your electric bill will cause you to reduce your energy consumption even more if you are already in the happy, below-average use as compared to others in your neighborhood?
Hell, yes! Who doesn't want to be thought of as virtuous? In these times when doing the right thing isn't always an obvious choice, if City Light, for example, wants to 'architect' my choice by giving me a smiley face, why not? Who am I to complain about those who have taken the time to understand how to manipulate human behavior in the right direction?