Screening Games#
Designing a menu that makes the truth the easy choice
Three ideas, before anything else#
- screening
- self-selection
- incentive-compatible
Get these three straight now — the scenario in a minute uses all of them.
Screening#
Instead of asking “are you serious about this?” — a question anyone would answer “yes” to — you build two different paths and watch which one people actually take.
Economists call the side doing the asking-without-asking the screener, and the act itself screening.
Self-selection#
Nobody is sorted by a judge. People sort themselves, each choosing whatever path is actually best for their own situation — which is exactly what makes the sorting trustworthy.
That’s self-selection: the type reveals itself through the choice, not through a claim.
Incentive-compatible#
A menu only works if the honest type genuinely prefers the option meant for them, and the dishonest type genuinely doesn’t want to copy it. If a casual dater would happily pick the “serious” option too, the menu hasn’t separated anyone.
That property is incentive compatibility — and it’s the whole game.
Now, back to the point#
One app. Two tiers. See who picks which.
Two tiers, one app#
| Tier | Casual | Serious |
|---|---|---|
| Price | free | $30/month |
| To join | a few photos | a long compatibility questionnaire |
| Who this favors | someone not ready to invest time | someone ready to invest time |
Does it actually separate?#
| Question | Casual user | Serious user |
|---|---|---|
| Would they pay $30 for this? | no — not worth it to them | yes — worth it |
| Would they fill in the long form? | no — too much effort for a maybe | yes — they’d do it anyway |
| Which tier do they end up in? | Casual | Serious |
The menu works because the “cost” of the serious tier is exactly the thing a casual user wouldn’t pay and a serious one would.
A screen that doesn’t work#
Compare a “Verified” badge that only requires a selfie matching your profile photo. Anyone can take a selfie — casual and serious daters alike.
It costs nothing that correlates with actually being serious. It’s a badge, not a screen: it looks like screening but isn’t incentive-compatible.
A menu that everyone would choose the same way isn’t a screen. It’s decoration.
Tutorial 5#
Design a menu — not a question — that separates a type you care about from one you don’t. Another group will try to break it.
Assignment 1 is due before this tutorial starts.
What today doesn’t settle#
A working menu is, by this model’s standard, a success. It says nothing about what the honest type still had to pay to prove it — the serious dater still filled in the long form and paid the $30, just to be believed.
Week 12 is where this, and Weeks 1, 3, and 4’s gaps, all come back at once.
See you next week#
Week 6: The Secretary Problem