Scientific Definition
Steelman the strongest version of the opposing view before critiquing it.
Plain-English Definition
Steelman the strongest version of the opposing view before critiquing it.
Feynman Explanation
Beating a straw man proves you're stronger than straw.
Core Principle
Steelman the strongest version of the opposing view before critiquing it.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Steelman the strongest version of the opposing view before critiquing it.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Cross-functional fights collapse when each side is forced to argue the other's position first.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Beating a straw man proves you're stronger than straw.
Examples
- Principle of charity, standard across analytic philosophy and central in The Philosopher's Toolkit.
- Cross-functional fights collapse when each side is forced to argue the other's position first.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Before responding, restate the other position so well they say 'yes — better than I had 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.
- Before responding, restate the other position so well they say 'yes — better than I had 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.
A group decides on a course of action that nobody actually wants, because everyone assumes others prefer it.
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
We attribute our own actions to situations but others' actions to their character.
We favor people who are similar to us or who like us.
Sacrificing for others without expecting a personal reward.
Masking the sponsors of a message to make it appear grassroots.
Disagreement grows more extreme as the parties think more about the issue.
Systematic errors in explaining the causes of behavior — yours or others'.
We accept vague, general statements as personally meaningful.
Adding the word 'because' (with any reason) increases compliance dramatically.
Behaviors spread through groups via observation and imitation.
We come to like people we've done a favor for, more than people who've helped us.