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The Incentives Lab
HBT-COG-0076 · Dimension COG · Cognition

Availability Bias

Relying on examples that come to mind easily, not on actual frequency.

Reasoning·Mental Model·Grade B·draft· enriching…

Scientific Definition

Relying on examples that come to mind easily, not on actual frequency.

Plain-English Definition

Relying on examples that come to mind easily, not on actual frequency.

Feynman Explanation

The vivid story beats the boring statistic.

Core Principle

Relying on examples that come to mind easily, not on actual frequency.

Mechanisms

Psychological

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Economic

Relying on examples that come to mind easily, not on actual frequency.

Neurological

Pending editorial review.

Evolutionary

Pending editorial review.

Sociological

Pending editorial review.

Computational

Pending editorial review.

Systems

Strategic priorities skew toward whatever was on the call this week.

Inputs (Triggers)

Pending editorial review.

Outputs (Behaviors)

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Signature

The vivid story beats the boring statistic.

Examples

Everyday
  • Overestimating risk of plane crashes after one is in the news.
Modern (Organizational)
  • Strategic priorities skew toward whatever was on the call this week.
Historical

Pending editorial review.

Famous Experiments

Pending editorial review.

Design Principles

  • Anchor decisions to base rates before recent anecdotes.

Measurement Approaches

Pending editorial review.

Evidence

Evidence Grade
B (A strongest → E speculative)
Replication
★★★☆☆
Intervention Confidence
3 / 5
Consensus
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Limitations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Open Research Questions

Pending editorial review.

Primary References

Pending editorial review.

Signature Section

The Perverse Incentive Lens™

How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.

Exploitation
Strategic priorities skew toward whatever was on the call this week.
Amplifying Incentives
Strategic priorities skew toward whatever was on the call this week.
Org Failure Modes
Strategic priorities skew toward whatever was on the call this week.
Societal Failure Modes
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Ethical Considerations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Redesign Strategies
Anchor decisions to base rates before recent anecdotes.
Diagnostic Questions
  • Anchor decisions to base rates before recent anecdotes.
Warning Signs

Pending editorial review.

Red Flags

Pending editorial review.

Intervention Playbook
Individual
Anchor decisions to base rates before recent anecdotes.
Team
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Organization
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Policy
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
AI Implications
Detection
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Measurement
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Mitigation
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Responsible Use
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).

Interactive Mini Network

Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.

HBT-COG-0076 · COG
Availability Bias
ABAbAbstractionsABAdaptive BiasABAdditive BiasAAAffirming a DisjunctADAgent DetectionARAlder's RazorAlAlgorithmsAMAll Models Are WrongABAllegiance BiasAFAnecdotal Fallacy

Knowledge Graph Neighbors

Version History

v1.1.0 · 2026-06-28Initial auto-seed from corpus.