Hidden Brain Podcast – Success 2.0: Getting What You Want

Intro

In this episode of the Hidden Brain podcast, titled “Success 2.0: Getting What You Want,” the host explores the unintended consequences and complexities of using incentives to motivate behavior. Through various examples and expert interviews, the episode highlights how incentives can backfire, create conflicting messages, and lead to unexpected outcomes. The podcast also delves into the importance of understanding true motivations and designing incentives carefully to achieve desired results.

Main Takeaways

Unintended Consequences of Incentives

• China’s Great Sparrow campaign led to a locust infestation and famine.
• Israeli fighter pilots’ high social status led to risky behavior.
• Incentives can have unintended consequences, such as teaching children to lie.
• The Welsh government’s crackdown on parents who pull kids out of school for family vacations actually led to an increase in absences.
• Wells Fargo Bank’s incentive to increase performance led to unethical behavior and fraud.

The Complexities of Incentives

• Incentives can undermine the performance of the strongest performers.
• Incentives can successfully change the behavior of the weakest performers.
• Offering high incentives for certain actions can lead to suspicion and decreased trust.
• Incentivizing people can lead to unintended consequences and gaming the incentives.
• Poorly designed incentives can backfire and make the creator appear greedy.

Incentives and Behavior Change

• Incentives can motivate people to do their best, but they can also create problems and send conflicting messages.
• Incentives can be used to change behavior and get people to stick with new habits.
• Incentives can be useful in narrow circumstances where students are unable to comprehend the long-term benefits of applying themselves in school.
• Physical activity can improve academic performance, even in subjects like math.
• Incentives need to be carefully designed and should not be too small or too large.

The Importance of Understanding Motivations

• Incentives can reveal hidden preferences and motivations.
• People often don’t understand their own preferences until they face a decision.
• Running experiments and considering different contexts is crucial for effective incentive design.
• In politics, many debates are based on ideology rather than running experiments to find solutions.

Summary

Unintended Consequences and Complexities of Incentives

The podcast explores how incentives can have unintended consequences, such as the locust infestation and famine caused by China’s Great Sparrow campaign. It also highlights how incentives can lead to risky behavior among Israeli fighter pilots and teach children to lie. Additionally, the episode discusses the contradictory effects of policies, like the Welsh government’s crackdown on school absences resulting in increased absences. The unethical behavior and fraud at Wells Fargo Bank due to performance incentives are also examined.

Incentives and Behavior Change

The podcast delves into the complexities of incentives, showcasing how they can undermine the performance of top performers while successfully changing the behavior of weaker performers. It also explores how poorly designed incentives can backfire, leading to suspicion and decreased trust. The episode emphasizes the importance of carefully designing incentives to motivate behavior change and create long-lasting habits, while also considering the limitations of incentives in getting individuals to enjoy what they’re doing.

The Importance of Understanding Motivations

The podcast highlights the significance of understanding true motivations when crafting incentives. It discusses how incentives can reveal hidden preferences and motivations, and how people often don’t understand their own preferences until they face a decision. The episode emphasizes the need for running experiments and considering different contexts to design effective incentives. It also critiques the culture of politics, which often relies on ideology rather than experimentation to find solutions.

Conclusion

The “Success 2.0: Getting What You Want” episode of the Hidden Brain podcast provides valuable insights into the unintended consequences and complexities of using incentives to motivate behavior. It emphasizes the need for careful design and understanding of true motivations to avoid backfiring and achieve desired outcomes. By exploring various examples and expert perspectives, the episode challenges traditional notions of incentives and encourages a more nuanced approach to behavior change.