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You have arrived at the web home of Noah Brier. This is mostly an archive of over a decade of blogging and other writing. You can read more about me or get in touch. If you want more recent writing of mine, most of that is at my BrXnd marketing x AI newsletter and Why Is This Interesting?, a daily email for the intellectually omnivorous.

March, 2010

Good Decisions, Bad Behavior

The unintended consequences of consuming environmentally friendly products.
The Economist Free Exchange points to a very interesting point about the side effects of consuming organic/environmentally friendly products:
Consumer choices not only reflect price and quality preferences but also social and moral values as witnessed in the remarkable growth of the global market for organic and environmentally friendly products. Building on recent research on behavioral priming and moral regulation, we find that mere exposure to green products and the purchase of them lead to markedly different behavioral consequences. In line with the halo associated with green consumerism, people act more altruistically after mere exposure to green than conventional products. However, people act less altruistically and are more likely to cheat and steal after purchasing green products as opposed to conventional products. Together, the studies show that consumption is more tightly connected to our social and ethical behaviors in directions and domains other than previously thought.
I love this. One of the things I thought about a lot at SXSW were the side effects of turning everything into a game. Every incentive disincentivizes another behavior.
March 17, 2010
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Noah Brier | Thanks for reading. | Don't fake the funk on a nasty dunk.