“If you’ve ever dreamed of a legal system that’s informed by behavioral science, this book could very well move us one step closer to making your dream a reality.”

—Adam Grant, author of New York Times #1 bestseller Think Again and host of the TED podcast WorkLife

“In an engaging, scientifically grounded fashion, van Rooij and Fine expertly link the findings of behavioral science with evidence of how people respond to laws, regulations, and legal sanctions. An excellent and urgent reminder of how behavioral science is essential to our understanding of law.”

 —Robert B. Cialdini, author of Influence and Pre-Suasion

“The Behavioral Code is a fantastically engaging look at how legal codes—from how we drive to how we serve food to how we reduce harm—guide every aspect of our lives. Van Rooij and Fine draw on fascinating examples of laws that worked (and ones that failed) to teach us new ways to impact behavior. Anyone who cares about making our society a safer place should read this book.” 

—Elizabeth F. Loftus, former president, Association for Psychological Science 

“Accessible, timely, and compelling, The Behavioral Code explores the vast literature concerning punishment and provides a blueprint for reforming the criminal justice system—one where we can better understand just how effective our laws may or may not be. A surprisingly refreshing read.”

 —Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, UC Berkeley School of Law, and author of The Case Against the Supreme Court

“The law is an embarrassment for its failure to account for the facts about how or whether its rules actually work. This brilliant and foundational text, beautifully written and compelling, will launch a long-needed movement for a much more empirically based and practically focused approach to the many critical dimensions of regulation that the law must advance. The current system is deeply unjust; this book points a clear way to making it much more just.”

 —Lawrence Lessig, Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership, Harvard Law School

“In this volume, Van Rooij and Fine develop a persuasive and compelling argument—engaging the reader in a provocative dialogue about behavioral jurisprudence. For law to successfully shape human behavior, mitigate unwanted and dangerous conduct, and achieve social good, it must mutually engage with empirical social science. The Behavioral Code is readily accessible to both scholars and the general public and will change the way you think. This is interdisciplinary integration at its very best.”

—Sally S. Simpson, past president, American Society of Criminology

“Laws come in so many flavors: universal versus parochial ones; those obeyed versus those blithely ignored or heroically resisted; bureaucratic nonsense versus laws that save lives or proclaim sacred values. The Behavioral Code explores the factors that shape when people do or don’t obey laws, with writing that is clear, science-based, and even-handed. A highly fascinating book with crucial implications—from the successes and dysfunctions of entire societies to our own everyday behavior.”

–Robert M. Sapolsky, author of Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst

“This is a book to be studied carefully and then shared with others as a ‘must-read’—but do so with the proviso that the volume be returned so as to occupy a prominent and permanent place in your library.” 

—Francis T. Cullen, Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus, University of Cincinnati, and past president, American Society of Criminology 

“The Behavioral Code convincingly concludes that building more prisons does not work; what does is reducing poverty and building motivation for, and pathways to, compliance within fair legal institutions.”

—John Braithwaite, emeritus professor, Australian National University

“Irrespective of whether the issue is wearing a face mask, complying with a police request, or accepting the results of an election, the ability to motivate people to follow rules is central to the viability of our own, or any other society.  But why do people follow or break rules? Anyone interested in knowing will benefit from reading The Behavioral Code. An engagingly written, timely, and compelling read.”

—Tom Tyler, Macklin Fleming Professor of Law and professor of psychology, Yale University

“Most books about the American criminal justice system show how deeply unjust and biased it is. The Behavioral Code reveals a startling truth: it actually fails to fight crime. Offering a witty and accessible tour de force of the science of crime, this must-read book shows us how to reduce our reliance on brutal punishment and build a more humane and effective justice system that can actually protect us.”

—L. Song Richardson, president, Colorado College

“Although we are governed by a massive system of laws and regulations, this is the first book to offer a thoughtful and scholarly discussion of how those laws and regulations actually change our behavior. Van Rooij and Fine provide a master class on the intersection between social science and the law, and their insights will reshape how we think of the law.” 

—David DeMatteo, former president, American Psychology-Law Society