Scientific Definition
Attention is the most contested resource in modern work.
Plain-English Definition
Attention is the most contested resource in modern work.
Feynman Explanation
Where attention flows, behavior follows. And incentives are upstream of both.
Core Principle
Attention is the most contested resource in modern work.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Attention is the most contested resource in modern work.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Where attention flows, behavior follows. And incentives are upstream of both.
Examples
- Open-office productivity declines tied to attention fragmentation.
- Strategy and incentive systems are also attention systems.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Design for sustained attention as deliberately as for productivity.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Design for sustained attention as deliberately as for productivity.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.
Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
Task switches leave cognitive residue that degrades performance.
Multitasking measurably degrades performance.
Two modes the brain alternates between.
Short focused intervals + breaks outperform marathon sessions.
Brain system that decides what's important right now.
Naming an emotion reduces its intensity.
Cumulative physiological wear from chronic stress.
Emotional override of rational processing.
Brain region tracking conflict, error, and effort.
We treat AI as more humanlike than it is.
Self-direction is one of the deepest motivational levers.
Willpower fails; structure works.