Scientific Definition
A group decides on a course of action that nobody actually wants, because everyone assumes others prefer it.
Plain-English Definition
A group decides on a course of action that nobody actually wants, because everyone assumes others prefer it.
Feynman Explanation
The road to collective disaster is paved with polite assumptions.
Core Principle
A group decides on a course of action that nobody actually wants, because everyone assumes others prefer it.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
A group decides on a course of action that nobody actually wants, because everyone assumes others prefer it.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Watch for consensus that nobody privately supports.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
The road to collective disaster is paved with polite assumptions.
Examples
- A team agrees to a painful relocation because each person thinks the others want it.
- Watch for consensus that nobody privately supports.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Run anonymous pre-votes before any big group decision.
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.
- Run anonymous pre-votes before any big group decision.
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.
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
We attribute our own actions to situations but others' actions to their character.
We favor people who are similar to us or who like us.
Sacrificing for others without expecting a personal reward.
Masking the sponsors of a message to make it appear grassroots.
Disagreement grows more extreme as the parties think more about the issue.
Systematic errors in explaining the causes of behavior — yours or others'.
We accept vague, general statements as personally meaningful.
Adding the word 'because' (with any reason) increases compliance dramatically.
Behaviors spread through groups via observation and imitation.
We come to like people we've done a favor for, more than people who've helped us.
Subconscious preference for numbers (and letters) that appear in our own name or birthday.