Scientific Definition
The first number on the table silently sets the range for every number after it.
Plain-English Definition
The first number on the table silently sets the range for every number after it.
Feynman Explanation
Whoever speaks first writes the ceiling.
Core Principle
The first number on the table silently sets the range for every number after it.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
The first number on the table silently sets the range for every number after it.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Comp negotiations, valuations, and budgets are all anchored before they're 'analyzed.'
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Whoever speaks first writes the ceiling.
Examples
- An opening offer of $1.2M defines a band nobody questions.
- Comp negotiations, valuations, and budgets are all anchored before they're 'analyzed.'
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Collect independent estimates in writing before any number is said aloud.
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.
- Collect independent estimates in writing before any number is said aloud.
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.
How will I feel about this in 10 minutes / 10 months / 10 years?
Inattention or forgetfulness caused by low attention, hyperfocus, or distraction.
Forgetting to compare an offer with the next-best alternative.
Outcomes that could have happened but did not.
Overthinking a situation so that decision-making stalls.
Tversky & Kahneman's classic: identical outcomes flip from 'risk averse' to 'risk seeking' when framed as lives saved vs. lives lost.
Our perception is shaped by what we selectively pay attention to.
Favoring suggestions from automated systems over conflicting human judgment.
A color appears different depending on adjacent colors.
Decisions are constrained by available information, cognitive limits, and time.
The ability to focus on one voice in a noisy environment.
Binding the future self with a present cost-of-defection to overcome impulse and inertia.