Scientific Definition
Negative feedback returns a system toward a target.
Plain-English Definition
Negative feedback returns a system toward a target.
Feynman Explanation
Thermostats, immune systems, and good managers all run on balancing loops.
Core Principle
Negative feedback returns a system toward a target.
Mechanisms
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Inputs (Triggers)
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Outputs (Behaviors)
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Behavioral Signature
Thermostats, immune systems, and good managers all run on balancing loops.
Examples
- A team auto-corrects scope when leadership stops adding it.
- Cost-cutting that triggers attrition is a balancing loop the org didn't see.
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Famous Experiments
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Design Principles
- Identify the target the loop defends, not just the loop.
Measurement Approaches
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Evidence
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The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Identify the target the loop defends, not just the loop.
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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.
Output of a process re-enters as input.
Output amplifies input — virtuous or vicious cycle.
Threshold past which small inputs cause disproportionate change.
Clear ownership of outcomes, not just tasks.
Asymmetric information attracts the worst counterparties.
We defer to perceived expertise, rank, or uniform.
Vastness that exceeds existing schemas dissolves the self briefly.
Membership in a group is a baseline human need.
Individually rational choices that produce a collectively bad outcome.
We seek tasks where we feel effective and improving.
Competing loyalties that compromise judgment.
Value is judged against whatever sits next to it.