Experiments — the fun and frivolous kind
Why we do what we do?
The interesting ways we try to motivate ourselves.
From putting the exercise gear somewhere we can see it — maybe even trip over it.
And hoping that’s the incentive needed to get us started on the way to being fit.
To breaking the chocolate bar in smaller pieces and hoping we’ll stop eating half of it; before noon.
(I’m not the only one doing that, am I?!)
Studies show that incentives fail to achieve desired results.
And sometime incentives can even backfire says Uri Gneezy, behavioral economist at UCSD
He cites a daycare study where a small fee designed to reduce parents’ tardiness in picking up their kids had the opposite effect.
Interestingly MORE parents were late picking up their children.
The late pickups doubled and it remained at that level until the fee was removed.
Before the fee parents would rush to get at the daycare in time.
(Out of courtesy to the daycare workers.)
The fee created a behavioral shift from social to economic.
Well, I’ve decided to run my own experiment here.
Flipper was told, in no uncertain terms, that her window viewing privileges will be suspended should she continue on grabbing the blinds.
I even provided an incentive: an almond.
(We were out of pizza.)
You can see how that worked out : )
Thanks for visiting.
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