Mixed Signals

In Mixed Signals, behavioral economist Uri Gneezy argues that incentives do more than reward behavior, they send signals about what we truly value, and people respond to the signal. When the signal and the stated goal clash, the incentive backfires: a boss who praises innovation but punishes failure, a school that pays for quantity while asking for quality, a daycare that fines late pickups and accidentally turns lateness into a paid option. Drawing on years of field experiments across companies, schools, and public programs, Gneezy explains why incentives so often produce the opposite of what was intended and lays out principles for designing rewards that align with the message a leader actually wants to send.