Incentives and Choices
Rewards and penalties steer choices: sales, pocket-money deals, prizes, fines and late fees all change what people do; spotting the incentive behind a choice, including who set it up and why
What a learner can do afterwards
- Point out the incentive in an everyday situation (e.g., 'the loyalty card makes people come back to that shop')
- Predict how behaviour changes when an incentive changes (e.g., 'if the fine doubles, fewer people will park there')
- Explain why someone created an incentive (e.g., the library drops fines so people return books without fear)
The lesson
An incentive is a reward or a penalty that pushes people toward one choice over another. A discount, a prize, a fine, and a late fee are all incentives. Someone sets them up on purpose to change what people do.
A toy shop runs a 'buy two, get one free' sale. Shoppers who planned to buy one toy now buy three instead. The shop wants more sales and more people walking through the door, so it built this incentive to change what shoppers choose.
When you spot a sale, a prize, or a fine, ask two questions: who set this up, and why? A shop wants more sales. A library wants its books back. A city wants safer streets.
An incentive is a reward or penalty someone creates on purpose to change what people choose.
Watch it
Where it sits
Learn first
Where this leads
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.