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When Clinicians Know They’re Being Watched, Patients Fare Better

Harvard Business Review

The “Hawthorne effect,” as it is now known, has been well-documented in social science : individuals, typically research subjects, actively change their behavior when they know they are being observed and monitored. Creating more quiet work spaces that facilitate focus on clinical tasks may also be effective.

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Uber Shows How Not to Apply Behavioral Economics

Harvard Business Review

When I read the piece, it reminded me of a question executives often ask me when I talk to them about the benefits of behavioral economics or give them examples of how they could use it in their own organizations: “Aren’t you afraid it will be used with ill intent?