It’s not uncommon for seemingly simple solutions to make a problem worse – especially if they offer incentives that are too simple. What the so-called cobra effect is all about.
We often imagine the solution to a problem to be so simple. We believe that all you need is the right motivation and the whole thing will work itself out. This often doesn’t work in private. Because we don’t necessarily achieve certain goals more quickly or easily, such as getting enough exercise every day or going to bed earlier, if we give ourselves external incentives. Buying something specific when we’ve established a good habit may help motivate us in the short term – but it won’t do us any favors in the long term. It is much more important and ultimately more productive if we are intrinsically motivated, i.e. if we want to achieve something on our own.
And we can’t just observe this effect in ourselves, there are also impressive examples from history that show that an external incentive is not always the best way to motivate someone – and that well-intentioned impulses sometimes even really backfire can get started.
The cobra plague in New Delhi – and its failed attempt to solve it
When India was under British colonial rule, there is said to have been a real cobra plague, especially in New Delhi. The poisonous snakes were a thorn in the side of the government, so it chose an unusual measure to get the problem under control: it called on people to kill as many cobras as possible and give them away. For every dead cobra they should be rewarded with a bounty.
What at first seemed like a sensible solution to the snake problem turned out to be a milkmaid’s calculation. Because clever people in New Delhi saw their chance at big money – and started breeding cobras, only to kill them and collect the reward for each dead animal.
Aside from the ethical issue of breeding creatures only to kill them for a bounty, this strategy by the British colonial rulers made the cobra plague significantly worse. By financially motivating the killing of cobras, the government led citizens to increase the problem instead of solving it.
Cobra Effect: Misplaced incentives can make the problem worse
For those in power, it was the logical conclusion to put an end to this system: They offered the monetary reward and hoped that the problem would solve itself. However, this next quick shot turned out to be a mistake again. Because people didn’t know what to do with their bred cobras now that they could no longer make money from them. So they released them into the wild – and the snake problem in the Indian city was worse than ever.
There is no historical evidence as to whether the story really happened that way. But it gave the cobra effect its name: It describes a measure or solution that is not really thought through and therefore not only does not solve the actual problem, but even makes it worse.
So what can we learn from the (possible) origin story of the Cobra Effect? Just because something is well-intentioned and the simplest solution in theory doesn’t mean it will work that way in practice. In many cases it helps to question your own motives – and, above all, to think carefully through all the possible consequences of your own actions before you fall into actionism.
Sources used: TikTok.com/@feleciaforthewin, choicehacking.com, medium.com