Scientific Definition
The study of how real humans actually decide — bounded, social, emotional, and inconsistent.
Plain-English Definition
The study of how real humans actually decide — bounded, social, emotional, and inconsistent.
Feynman Explanation
What economics finally noticed once it left the chalkboard.
Core Principle
The study of how real humans actually decide — bounded, social, emotional, and inconsistent.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
The study of how real humans actually decide — bounded, social, emotional, and inconsistent.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The operating discipline behind nudges, choice architecture, and incentive design.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
What economics finally noticed once it left the chalkboard.
Examples
- People reject a $5 split in an ultimatum game and walk away with $0. Homo economicus doesn't do that.
- The operating discipline behind nudges, choice architecture, and incentive design.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Treat every strategy as a behavioral hypothesis. Test it.
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.
- Treat every strategy as a behavioral hypothesis. Test it.
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.
Owning something raises its valuation — sellers want more to give it up than buyers will pay to acquire.
Exploiting price differences between markets for risk-free profit.
With clear property rights and low transaction costs, parties negotiate to efficient outcomes.
Specialize in what you give up the least to do.
Complements raise each other's value; substitutes lower it.
Fixed costs don't scale with output; variable costs do.
Innovation destroys old industries and creates new ones.
Each additional unit produces less marginal benefit.
A long-run planner self in conflict with a short-run impulsive self.
Bad money drives out good when both are legally equivalent.
The mythical fully rational, self-interested, utility-maximizing agent neoclassical models assume.
One party has more or better information than another.