Great piece from NPR's Planet Money. The Economics of Misbehaving
To behave or make mischief? For many school kids it comes down to a kind of cost-benefit analysis. Act out and get noticed? There are rewards associated with being popular or the class clown. This Planet Money report focuses on the inner economic life of students.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112739889
Looking at "acting out" with a cost-benefit approach, surprisingly makes sense. I never thought about this before, but I guess every time someone makes a decision there has to be some kind of cost-benefit scale.
ReplyDeleteThe sad part about this is that the benefits are fleeting, and the "friends" that are made as a result of acting out, are also fleeting. On top of that, this type of behavior is not just limited to high schools, but appears on college campuses. Apparently it is cool to drink until you forget your name and feel the need to share this news with every one within earshot, as long as the benefit (making "friends")outweighs the costs (embarrassment and loss of respect). Sadly, the economist in this piece sounded like he would agree with this last statement...