Scientific Definition
A mechanism that locks you into a future action to overcome present temptation.
Plain-English Definition
A mechanism that locks you into a future action to overcome present temptation.
Feynman Explanation
Ulysses tied himself to the mast so he could hear the sirens and survive.
Core Principle
A mechanism that locks you into a future action to overcome present temptation.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
A mechanism that locks you into a future action to overcome present temptation.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pre-commitments help teams execute long-term plans despite short-term pressure.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Ulysses tied himself to the mast so he could hear the sirens and survive.
Examples
- Automatic savings transfers prevent spending temptations.
- Pre-commitments help teams execute long-term plans despite short-term pressure.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Build public commitments and penalties for backing out.
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.
- Build public commitments and penalties for backing out.
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.
Binding the future self with a present cost-of-defection to overcome impulse and inertia.
Continuing a failing course of action because of prior investment.
How will I feel about this in 10 minutes / 10 months / 10 years?
Inattention or forgetfulness caused by low attention, hyperfocus, or distraction.
Forgetting to compare an offer with the next-best alternative.
Outcomes that could have happened but did not.
Overthinking a situation so that decision-making stalls.
The first number on the table silently sets the range for every number after it.
Tversky & Kahneman's classic: identical outcomes flip from 'risk averse' to 'risk seeking' when framed as lives saved vs. lives lost.
Our perception is shaped by what we selectively pay attention to.
Favoring suggestions from automated systems over conflicting human judgment.
A color appears different depending on adjacent colors.