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The Incentives Lab
HBT-COG-0103 · Dimension COG · Cognition

Bloom's Taxonomy

Hierarchy of cognitive learning: Remember → Understand → Apply → Analyze → Evaluate → Create. Benjamin Bloom, 1956 (revised 2001).

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

Scientific Definition

Hierarchy of cognitive learning: Remember → Understand → Apply → Analyze → Evaluate → Create. Benjamin Bloom, 1956 (revised 2001).

Plain-English Definition

Hierarchy of cognitive learning: Remember → Understand → Apply → Analyze → Evaluate → Create. Benjamin Bloom, 1956 (revised 2001).

Feynman Explanation

Most corporate training stops at 'Understand' and wonders why nothing changes.

Core Principle

Hierarchy of cognitive learning: Remember → Understand → Apply → Analyze → Evaluate → Create. Benjamin Bloom, 1956 (revised 2001).

Mechanisms

Psychological

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Economic

Hierarchy of cognitive learning: Remember → Understand → Apply → Analyze → Evaluate → Create. Benjamin Bloom, 1956 (revised 2001).

Neurological

Pending editorial review.

Evolutionary

Pending editorial review.

Sociological

Pending editorial review.

Computational

Pending editorial review.

Systems

Writing learning objectives that demand higher-order outcomes.

Inputs (Triggers)

Pending editorial review.

Outputs (Behaviors)

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Signature

Most corporate training stops at 'Understand' and wonders why nothing changes.

Examples

Everyday
  • Curriculum design, exam blueprinting, learning-objective writing.
Modern (Organizational)
  • Writing learning objectives that demand higher-order outcomes.
Historical

Pending editorial review.

Famous Experiments

Pending editorial review.

Design Principles

  • For every training, name the Bloom level you intend learners to reach.

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
Writing learning objectives that demand higher-order outcomes.
Amplifying Incentives
Writing learning objectives that demand higher-order outcomes.
Org Failure Modes
Writing learning objectives that demand higher-order outcomes.
Societal Failure Modes
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Ethical Considerations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Redesign Strategies
For every training, name the Bloom level you intend learners to reach.
Diagnostic Questions
  • For every training, name the Bloom level you intend learners to reach.
Warning Signs

Pending editorial review.

Red Flags

Pending editorial review.

Intervention Playbook
Individual
For every training, name the Bloom level you intend learners to reach.
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-0103 · COG
Bloom's Taxonomy
BTAQAdaptability Quotien…AKAndragogy (Knowles)AAAttention as Trainab…BMBeginner's MindBEBizarreness EffectBMBlue Mind (Nichols)CPChange Personal Hist…ChChunkingCCChunking (Cognitive)COCircle of Excellence

Knowledge Graph Neighbors

Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.

Same family
HBT-COG-0011Adaptability Quotient (AQ)

Your capacity to learn, unlearn, and relearn faster than the environment changes.

Same family
HBT-COG-0037Andragogy (Knowles)

Malcolm Knowles's principles of adult learning: self-direction, experience as resource, readiness, problem-centered orientation, intrinsic motivation.

Same family
HBT-COG-0069Attention as Trainable Resource (Jha)

Amishi Jha's research: attention is a finite, depletable, but trainable cognitive resource — short daily mindfulness measurably improves it.

Same family
HBT-COG-0092Beginner's Mind

Approach a situation as if you knew nothing.

Same family
HBT-COG-0101Bizarreness Effect

Unusual or bizarre material is more memorable than common material.

Same family
HBT-COG-0104Blue Mind (Nichols)

Wallace J. Nichols: proximity to water reliably shifts the nervous system toward a calmer, more creative state.

Same family
HBT-COG-0124Change Personal History

Resourcing past memories with the state you needed at the time, so old triggers stop firing the old response.

Same family
HBT-COG-0140Chunking

Grouping information into familiar units to improve memory and processing.

Same family
HBT-COG-0141Chunking (Cognitive)

Compressing many small patterns into one larger unit your mind treats as a single object.

Same family
HBT-COG-0147Circle of Excellence

Anchor a peak resourceful state to an imagined spot on the floor; step into it on demand before high-stakes moments.

Same family
HBT-COG-0150Classical Conditioning

Associating a neutral stimulus with a meaningful one until the neutral one triggers the response.

Same family
HBT-COG-0157Cognitive Load Theory

Working memory has limits.

Version History

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