When Fining People Makes Things WorseHow a penalty for being late backfired spectacularly.

From the show

When Rewards Backfire

Paying for a mistake can sometimes make us feel less guilty about it. This is what happened at a daycare that started fining parents for late pickups. Instead of encouraging punctuality, the fee turned a social obligation into a simple transaction, leading to even more tardiness. This counterintuitive result reveals how financial incentives can accidentally erase our sense of social responsibility, a phenomenon known as 'crowding out.' The change in behavior persisted even after the fine was removed.