Scientific Definition
The drive to get better at things that matter.
Plain-English Definition
The drive to get better at things that matter.
Feynman Explanation
Progress is the reward.
Core Principle
The drive to get better at things that matter.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The drive to get better at things that matter.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Progress is the reward.
Examples
- Why people learn skills they don't get paid for.
- Career and learning architecture that supports continuous mastery.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Design jobs with mastery trajectories visible to the person doing them.
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 jobs with mastery trajectories visible to the person doing them.
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.
Self-direction is one of the deepest motivational levers.
Doing something for an external reward.
Doing something because the doing is the reward.
Adding external rewards reduces intrinsic motivation.
Meaning beyond the task multiplies motivation.
Humans need autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
Belief in one's ability to execute.
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.