@daniel_h_pink: The old man is a parable. The mechanism is real, and it shows up in expensive places. Uri Gneezy and Aldo Rustichini studied daycare centers in Israel that were tired of parents collecting their kids late. The centers introduced a small fine. Late pickups went up, not down, and stayed up even after the fine was scrapped. The fine had turned an obligation into a purchase, and once a thing has a price, you're entitled to buy it. That's the risk with any reward or penalty. It doesn't only change the incentive. It changes what people think the thing is. Gneezy, U., & Rustichini, A. (2000). A fine is a price. Journal of Legal Studies, 29(1), 1–17. Follow @danielpink for behavioral science you can put to work the same day you read it.

Daniel Pink

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Thursday 27 August 2026 16:34:26 GMT