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Startling differences between humans and jukeboxes

experimental-history.com · 3,696 words · saved by 1 readers

The cause of every social problem, we can all agree, is that people get rewarded for doing the wrong things. Academic fraud, dysfunctional healthcare systems, good-for-nothin’ politicians—all cases of bad incentives. I used to nod along to these conversations like yes, yes, of course, the incentives! But then I started paying attention and was like, wait, what are we all talking about? I think there is a monstrous theory of human behavior lurking here—one that I myself have believed—that needs to be dragged out into the light and thoroughly stomped. Here’s the usual take on bad incentives: Humans do stuff in exchange for rewards—money, power, prestige, etc. Unfortunately, bad behavior often pays more of those rewards than good behavior does. “Fixing the incentives” means trying to make doing the right thing more lucrative, broadly defined. Call this the jukebox theory of human behavior: you get people to do what you want by inserting coins and pushing buttons. I’m skeptical of jukebox

Startling differences between humans and jukeboxes OR: The secret geniuses of Wisconsin Adam Mastroianni Apr 02, 2024 259 69 28 Share Article voiceover 0:00 -23:07 Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. photo cred: my dad The cause of every social problem, we can all agree, is that people get rewarded for doing the wrong things. Academic fraud, dysfunctional healthcare systems, good-for-nothin’ politicians—all cases of bad incentives. I used to nod along to these conversations like yes, yes, of course, the incentives! But then I started paying attention and was like,

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