Goodharttörvény

Goodhart's Law is an observation in economics and social sciences that states when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure. This principle suggests that any statistical indicator, when used as a goal for policy or performance, will eventually be optimized in ways that distort its original meaning and effectiveness. For example, if a school is judged solely on its standardized test scores, teachers might focus their efforts on teaching to the test rather than on fostering genuine understanding or critical thinking. This can lead to an inflation of scores without a corresponding improvement in actual educational quality.

The law was formulated by British economist Charles Goodhart in 1975. He observed this phenomenon in monetary policy, where attempts to control the money supply as a target for inflation proved problematic because the relationship between the money supply and inflation was not stable when it became the focus of policy. Similarly, in management, if employees are evaluated solely on the number of calls they make, they might rush through calls, providing poor customer service, rather than focusing on resolving customer issues effectively. The core idea is that human behavior and systems adapt to the metrics imposed upon them, often in unintended and counterproductive ways.