The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics of Everyday Life by Uri Gneezy, John List Page B
Authors: Uri Gneezy, John List
Ads: Link
trained for years for this moment, sacrificing normal lives as teenagers to reach the very apex of gymnasticperformance. The photos were taken after they received their respective medals. One was decorated with the silver medal, the other with the bronze. When their photos were published in the press, one was beaming, the other appeared to be holding back tears.
Which do you think won the silver and which the bronze?
We all know that silver is better than bronze, but context is everything. The silver medalist who missed out on the gold was devastated, and her face looked as if she were sucking on a sour lemon. But the bronze medalist who just barely made the podium was clearly ecstatic. 8
Over the past forty years two psychologists—Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky—have revolutionized our understanding of the importance of human emotions like sensitivity to context in everyday choices we make. One of the things these two “fathers” of behavioral economics have shown is that the way humans understand the world has to do with the way we interpret (or “frame”) phenomena. Depending on how you frame something when you speak, you influence someone’s behavior in various ways. A parent might say to a child, “If you don’t eat those peas, you won’t grow up big and strong.” (That’s what behaviorists call “loss framing”—it frames a statement as a loss or punishment.) Alternatively, the parent could phrase the same thing in a more positive light and say, “If you eat your peas, you will grow up big and strong.” (That’s called “gain framing”—it frames the statement as a benefit or reward.)
Imagine you are a thirteen-year-old boy coming into the computer lab to take a standardized test. It’s a nice fall day, and you are restless, a little hungry, and all you can think about is that last round of your favorite video game and the pretty girl sitting at the desk behind you. You wish you were anywhere but stuck in this stupid lab to take another stupid test.
In walks the school’s assessment coordinator, Mr. Belville, who asks for everyone’s attention. (Mr. Belville also happens to be the school’s reading coordinator and head of the school’s technology department; he is the sort of overqualified and overdedicated administrator that single-handedly makes a school run.) The process of just getting the students to stop talking takes a minute, but finally they quiet down.
“Today,” Mr. Belville announces, “you’re going to take the next level of the standardized tests that you took back in the spring. But this time we’re going to be doing something different. If you do better on today’s test than you did the last time you took it, you’ll receive a reward of $20.”
Your eyebrows shoot up. So do everyone else’s. “Awesome!” someone yells. Suddenly everyone starts chattering at once. Mr. Belville immediately quiets the room.
“Now, before we begin the test, I’m going to be handing each of you a $20 bill,” he continues. “I want each of you to fill out this receipt confirming you’ve received the money. On the receipt sheets, I want you to write a little bit about what you plan to do with the cash. You will keep the money in front of you on your desk while you take the test. Remember, you will get to keep the $20 if you improve on the test. But if you don’t improve you will lose the $20.” He passes around the receipt forms and the $20.
You dutifully fill out the form and think about what you want to do with the $20, which you would like to put toward a new skateboard. You write down your dream on the form, and then place the $20 to the right of the keyboard, just above the mouse. You smile as you look at it. “My wheels,” you think. You imagine walking into the skateboard store and plunking down your money.
Mr. Belville returns to the front of the room, interrupting your daydream. “We will begin the test in two minutes. Please sign in on the computer.”
You
Which do you think won the silver and which the bronze?
We all know that silver is better than bronze, but context is everything. The silver medalist who missed out on the gold was devastated, and her face looked as if she were sucking on a sour lemon. But the bronze medalist who just barely made the podium was clearly ecstatic. 8
Over the past forty years two psychologists—Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky—have revolutionized our understanding of the importance of human emotions like sensitivity to context in everyday choices we make. One of the things these two “fathers” of behavioral economics have shown is that the way humans understand the world has to do with the way we interpret (or “frame”) phenomena. Depending on how you frame something when you speak, you influence someone’s behavior in various ways. A parent might say to a child, “If you don’t eat those peas, you won’t grow up big and strong.” (That’s what behaviorists call “loss framing”—it frames a statement as a loss or punishment.) Alternatively, the parent could phrase the same thing in a more positive light and say, “If you eat your peas, you will grow up big and strong.” (That’s called “gain framing”—it frames the statement as a benefit or reward.)
Imagine you are a thirteen-year-old boy coming into the computer lab to take a standardized test. It’s a nice fall day, and you are restless, a little hungry, and all you can think about is that last round of your favorite video game and the pretty girl sitting at the desk behind you. You wish you were anywhere but stuck in this stupid lab to take another stupid test.
In walks the school’s assessment coordinator, Mr. Belville, who asks for everyone’s attention. (Mr. Belville also happens to be the school’s reading coordinator and head of the school’s technology department; he is the sort of overqualified and overdedicated administrator that single-handedly makes a school run.) The process of just getting the students to stop talking takes a minute, but finally they quiet down.
“Today,” Mr. Belville announces, “you’re going to take the next level of the standardized tests that you took back in the spring. But this time we’re going to be doing something different. If you do better on today’s test than you did the last time you took it, you’ll receive a reward of $20.”
Your eyebrows shoot up. So do everyone else’s. “Awesome!” someone yells. Suddenly everyone starts chattering at once. Mr. Belville immediately quiets the room.
“Now, before we begin the test, I’m going to be handing each of you a $20 bill,” he continues. “I want each of you to fill out this receipt confirming you’ve received the money. On the receipt sheets, I want you to write a little bit about what you plan to do with the cash. You will keep the money in front of you on your desk while you take the test. Remember, you will get to keep the $20 if you improve on the test. But if you don’t improve you will lose the $20.” He passes around the receipt forms and the $20.
You dutifully fill out the form and think about what you want to do with the $20, which you would like to put toward a new skateboard. You write down your dream on the form, and then place the $20 to the right of the keyboard, just above the mouse. You smile as you look at it. “My wheels,” you think. You imagine walking into the skateboard store and plunking down your money.
Mr. Belville returns to the front of the room, interrupting your daydream. “We will begin the test in two minutes. Please sign in on the computer.”
You
Similar Books
