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Incentives: The Hidden Forces That Shape Behavior
Incentives are the strongest force in the world. They explain why good people do awful things, why smart people do stupid things, and why ordinary people do amazing things. Nearly everyone underestimates how much their own beliefs and actions are influenced by their incentives, many of which are designed to fulfill someone else’s goals.
Morgan Housel • Big Beliefs
“When people say they don’t want to change what they really mean is they don’t have an incentive to change.
Change the incentives and the behavior follows suit.”
Change the incentives and the behavior follows suit.”
James Clear • 3-2-1: On taking action, changing incentives, and belonging
James Clear put it this way: “People follow incentives, not advice.”
Morgan Housel • Same as Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes
animals. We move in the direction of rewards and will easily take steps to avoid punishment. Humans, when we are thoughtful about incentives, will change our behavior to attain a perceived benefit. We will go through the same behavioral hoops to detour around perceived disadvantages.
Shane Parrish • The Great Mental Models Volume 2: Physics, Chemistry and Biology
Incentives, a version of what psychologists call extrinsic motivators, do not alter the attitudes that underlie our behaviors. They do not create an enduring commitment to any value or action. Rather, incentives merely—and temporarily—change what we do.