The Psychology of Performance Numbers in the Public Sector

Asmus Olsen will present research on how citizens interpret numerical performance data in the public sector. He will stress the importance of symbolic numbers, attention to negative results, the subtle effects of framing, and the importance of benchmarks and comparisons offered to citizens. His research provides managers and policymakers with insights into how they can anticipate citizens' responses to performance metrics and provides some tools to reassess their response to performance metrics.