Why are there people who can't follow the rules?



There are people in the world who break even simple rules such as 'obeying red lights.' The difference in people's reactions to rules may actually be due to differences in the brain's information processing system, says Risart Plantenga, a management, law and security expert at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

Waarom regels voor een gedeelte van de bevolking niet werken - Universiteit Leiden

https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/nieuws/2024/09/waarom-regels-voor-een-gedeelte-van-de-bevolking-niet-werken

According to Plantenga, the human brain has roughly two information processing systems that are closely linked, and humans tend to prefer one of these systems.

One information processing system is the experiential system, and the other is the rational system. Plantenga says that people who prefer the experiential system rely primarily on past experiences, emotions, and intuition, while people who prefer the rational system place more importance on reason and logic.

Plantenga points out that these differences in systems affect the way people 'follow the rules.' Specifically, people who prefer empirical systems are guided by intuition and emotion and break rules that they perceive as irrational, while people who prefer rational systems follow rules rationally.

Plantenga, who also studies policymaking, suggests that the above hypothesis is the reason why the rules that policymakers set don't always work as intended.



'Rules don't always have the desired effect,' Plantenga said. 'Governments and policymakers write rules primarily with rational people in mind, without fully taking into account those who value experience. Excessive regulatory burdens can lead to economic harm and erode trust in government.'

For example, when a rule restricts people's behavior, that experience can leave them with negative feelings and make them less willing to follow the rules.

'Policymakers who want to deregulate should pay more attention to people's reactions to rules. Experience-oriented people often react without thinking and are guided by the morality of the group to which they belong. If we do not take this into account when making rules, regulations will never work. They will only increase dissatisfaction,' Plantenga added, saying that it is important to analyze people's psychological aspects when formulating rules.



in Science, Posted by log1p_kr