Scientific Definition
Judging phenomena by the standards of one's own culture.
Plain-English Definition
Judging phenomena by the standards of one's own culture.
Feynman Explanation
The fish does not see the water. We do not see our own culture.
Core Principle
Judging phenomena by the standards of one's own culture.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Judging phenomena by the standards of one's own culture.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Culture shapes what customers and employees expect and value.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
The fish does not see the water. We do not see our own culture.
Examples
- A global strategy fails because it assumes local norms are universal.
- Culture shapes what customers and employees expect and value.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Hire local interpreters and test assumptions in each market.
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.
- Hire local interpreters and test assumptions in each market.
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.
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.
Systematic errors in explaining the causes of behavior — yours or others'.
Faces and brands look more appealing in a group than individually.
Avoiding contact with people or things perceived as 'contaminated'.
Giving polite rather than honest answers to avoid offense.
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.
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.
We accept vague, general statements as personally meaningful.