Scientific Definition
We judge frequency by how easily examples come to mind.
Plain-English Definition
We judge frequency by how easily examples come to mind.
Feynman Explanation
Vivid beats true. Recent beats important.
Core Principle
We judge frequency by how easily examples come to mind.
Mechanisms
We judge frequency by how easily examples come to mind.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Vivid beats true. Recent beats important.
Examples
- One viral customer complaint reshapes a roadmap built on 10M happy users.
- Strategy overweights the loud and recent; under-weights the silent base rate.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Require base rates in every memo before any narrative.
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.
- Require base rates in every memo before any narrative.
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.
We remember our past choices as better than they were.
Believing past events were obviously predictable once we know how they ended.
We judge experiences by their peak moment and how they ended.
Overweighting whatever just happened.
We remember the past as better than it was.
Feelings act as shortcuts for facts.
Doing something feels safer than doing nothing — even when nothing wins.
We prefer known risks to unknown ones, even when the unknown is better.
Over-reliance on the first number that hits the table.
Perceiving meaningful connections in unrelated things.
Relying on examples that come to mind easily, not on actual frequency.
We ignore underlying probabilities in favor of vivid specifics.