Another example of this might be a deadbolt on your front door; it’s sure not going to stop anyone hell bent on robbing you, but it makes it inconvenient enough that any ‘opportunist’ thieves won’t bother.
At any given time, we have many conflicting desires and motivations, that are (generally) closely balanced. Desire to fit in socially and act moral (by not being a thief) vs the desire to maximise your own circumstances (by stealing someones stuff). Desire to maximise circumstances (by filling out the rebate form) vs desire to conserve energy (by being too lazy to do it). Perhaps trivial inconsistencies tip the balance of these motivations enough so that in most people, one will be favored over the other. Adding a rebate form makes tips it just enough so that your natural laziness wins out over your desire for money.
Since our natural desires tend to come from the dumb part of our brain, this has the effect of causing us to make non-optimal decisions.
Another example of this might be a deadbolt on your front door; it’s sure not going to stop anyone hell bent on robbing you, but it makes it inconvenient enough that any ‘opportunist’ thieves won’t bother.
This is not quite the same. It’s more like the joke about the hikers running from the bear: the first hiker shouts “we can’t outrun a bear!”, the second hiker shouts back: “I know, but I can outrun you!”. Opportunist thieves will look for an easier target down the street, not give up and go home.
It’s not exactly the same as the other ones Yvain mentioned, but the mechanics of the situation—raising the ‘price of admission’ so that the vast majority of people are tipped in a certain direction, ie: not robbing your house—are similar enough that the same forces are probably at work.
The deadbolt also adds another disincentive; breaking into a house and stealing (breaking and entering) is a significantly more severe crime than simple burglary
Another example of this might be a deadbolt on your front door; it’s sure not going to stop anyone hell bent on robbing you, but it makes it inconvenient enough that any ‘opportunist’ thieves won’t bother.
At any given time, we have many conflicting desires and motivations, that are (generally) closely balanced. Desire to fit in socially and act moral (by not being a thief) vs the desire to maximise your own circumstances (by stealing someones stuff). Desire to maximise circumstances (by filling out the rebate form) vs desire to conserve energy (by being too lazy to do it). Perhaps trivial inconsistencies tip the balance of these motivations enough so that in most people, one will be favored over the other. Adding a rebate form makes tips it just enough so that your natural laziness wins out over your desire for money.
Since our natural desires tend to come from the dumb part of our brain, this has the effect of causing us to make non-optimal decisions.
This is not quite the same. It’s more like the joke about the hikers running from the bear: the first hiker shouts “we can’t outrun a bear!”, the second hiker shouts back: “I know, but I can outrun you!”. Opportunist thieves will look for an easier target down the street, not give up and go home.
It’s not exactly the same as the other ones Yvain mentioned, but the mechanics of the situation—raising the ‘price of admission’ so that the vast majority of people are tipped in a certain direction, ie: not robbing your house—are similar enough that the same forces are probably at work.
The deadbolt also adds another disincentive; breaking into a house and stealing (breaking and entering) is a significantly more severe crime than simple burglary