Benjamin Van Rooij

Adam Fine

For readers of Thinking Fast and Slow and Blink, the first definitive account on the impact of law on human behavior explores some of the most challenging issues of our time Why do some laws radically change society whereas others are consistently ignored and routinely broken? Our laws harshly punish drug offenders, yet the opioid epidemic rages on; our laws set and enforce pollution standards for cars, yet 97% of diesel cars still fail to meet the standards; our laws bar performance enhancing substances in sports, yet Olympians continue to test dirty for doping. Using two decades of research, Benjamin van Rooij and Adam Fine explore the law's core behavioral mechanisms and argue that our laws fail because when we design laws, we rely on our intuitions rather than the science behind behavior. Leveraging gripping and counterintuitive examples, The Behavioral Code demonstrates how the law can effectively improve human conduct and respond to some of our most pressing headlines as well as stories that flew under the radar. The authors travel to New Zealand to understand how an avocado shortage led to widespread theft; they ride on Dutch trains to see how classical music is used to reduce crime in the Netherlands; they step back in time to the 60s to understand why economic growth and more job opportunities led to more, rather than less crime; and they go into corporate boardrooms at VW, BP and Wells Fargo to understand how our response to massive corporate misconduct has actually more deeply engrained wrongdoing within the values of these corporations.Revelatory and engaging, The Behavioral Code illustrates the law's potential for creating a safer and more just society.

The Hidden Ways the Law Makes Us Better Or Worse

The Behavioral Code

Benjamin van Rooij

Freakonomics for the law—the revolutionary behavioral science insights into how the law fails to reduce misbehavior. Why do some laws radically change behavior whereas others are consistently ignored and routinely broken? Why do we keep relying on harsh punishment against crime even though it continues to fail? Professors Benjamin van Rooij and Adam Fine present the first accessible analysis of behavioral jurisprudence, which will fundamentally alter how we understand the connection between law and human behavior. Drawing upon decades of research, the authors reveal the behavioral code: the root causes and hidden forces that drive human behavior and our responses to society’s laws. The Behavioral Code offers a necessary and different approach to battling crime and injustice that is based in understanding the science of human misconduct—rather than relying on punishment to shape behavior. The book will show how this code affects all of us using illustrative examples like: · Park rangers in Arizona’s Petrified Forest who worked with social psychologists to reduce theft—beginning by throwing out “no stealing” signs · German walls that “pee back” at public urinators · A $2.3 billion legal settlement against Pfizer that revealed how whistleblower protections fail to reduce corporate malfeasance · NYC subway ads that reduced manspreading · How Richmond, California, reduced gun violence by offering young firearm offenders $1,000 monthly rewards for good behavior Revelatory and counterintuitive, The Behavioral Code catalyzes the conversation about how the law can effectively improve human conduct and respond to some of our most pressing issues today, from police misconduct to corporate malfeasance.

Adam Fine

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