Mixed Signals: How Incentives Really Work 9780300255539, 0300255535
An informative and entertaining account of how actions send signals that shape behaviors and how to design better incent
131 92 7MB
English Pages 320 [318]
Table of contents :
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
Introduction: Do as I Say, Not as I Do
ONE: HOW SIGNALING WINS MARKETS
1. Credible Signals
2. How Toyota Won the Hybrid Car Market
3. It’s Just Who I Am: Th e Value of Self-Signaling
TWO: AVOID MIXED SIGNALS
4. When More Is Less: Incentivizing Quantity at the Expense of Quality
5. Encouraging Innovation but Punishing Failure
6. Encouraging Long-Term Goals but Rewarding Short-Term Results
7. Encouraging Teamwork but Incentivizing Individual Success
THREE: HOW INCENTIVES SHAPE THE STORY
8. Stakes and Mistakes
9. Mental Accounting: Choosing the Incentive’s Currency
10. Regret as Incentives
11. Prosocial Incentives
12. Awards as Signals
FOUR: USE INCENTIVES TO IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM
13. Are US Students Really So Bad?
14. Overhead Aversion: How Nonprofits Get a Bad Rap
15. “Pay to Quit” Strategy: Making Employees Put Their Money Where Their Mouth Is
16. Bribing the Self: Cheating and Self-Signaling
FIVE: HOW INCENTIVES LEAD TO BEHAVIOR CHANGE
17. Creating Habits: Change Happens One Step at a Time . . . Literally
18. Breaking Habits: Kicking Bad Behaviors to the Curb
19. I Want It Now!
20. Removing Barriers
SIX: HELPING COMMUNITIES CHANGE HARMFUL CULTURAL PRACTICES
21. From Lion Killers to Lion Savers: Changing the Story
22. Insurance Fraud and Moral Hazard: The Maasai Edition
23. Changing the Warriors’ Story
24. Changing the Economics of Female Genital Mutilation
SEVEN: NEGOTIATE YOUR SIGNALS: PUTTING INCENTIVES TO WORK AT THE NEGOTIATION TABLE
25. Anchoring and Adjustment
26. The Contrast Effect
27. Price Signals Quality
28. The Norm of Reciprocity
Conclusion: From Mixed Signals to Clear Signals
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
Introduction: Do as I Say, Not as I Do
ONE: HOW SIGNALING WINS MARKETS
1. Credible Signals
2. How Toyota Won the Hybrid Car Market
3. It’s Just Who I Am: Th e Value of Self-Signaling
TWO: AVOID MIXED SIGNALS
4. When More Is Less: Incentivizing Quantity at the Expense of Quality
5. Encouraging Innovation but Punishing Failure
6. Encouraging Long-Term Goals but Rewarding Short-Term Results
7. Encouraging Teamwork but Incentivizing Individual Success
THREE: HOW INCENTIVES SHAPE THE STORY
8. Stakes and Mistakes
9. Mental Accounting: Choosing the Incentive’s Currency
10. Regret as Incentives
11. Prosocial Incentives
12. Awards as Signals
FOUR: USE INCENTIVES TO IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM
13. Are US Students Really So Bad?
14. Overhead Aversion: How Nonprofits Get a Bad Rap
15. “Pay to Quit” Strategy: Making Employees Put Their Money Where Their Mouth Is
16. Bribing the Self: Cheating and Self-Signaling
FIVE: HOW INCENTIVES LEAD TO BEHAVIOR CHANGE
17. Creating Habits: Change Happens One Step at a Time . . . Literally
18. Breaking Habits: Kicking Bad Behaviors to the Curb
19. I Want It Now!
20. Removing Barriers
SIX: HELPING COMMUNITIES CHANGE HARMFUL CULTURAL PRACTICES
21. From Lion Killers to Lion Savers: Changing the Story
22. Insurance Fraud and Moral Hazard: The Maasai Edition
23. Changing the Warriors’ Story
24. Changing the Economics of Female Genital Mutilation
SEVEN: NEGOTIATE YOUR SIGNALS: PUTTING INCENTIVES TO WORK AT THE NEGOTIATION TABLE
25. Anchoring and Adjustment
26. The Contrast Effect
27. Price Signals Quality
28. The Norm of Reciprocity
Conclusion: From Mixed Signals to Clear Signals
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
- Author / Uploaded
- Uri Gneezy
