Scientific Definition
We choose more variety than we'll actually want when picking for the future all at once.
Plain-English Definition
We choose more variety than we'll actually want when picking for the future all at once.
Feynman Explanation
The snack assortment you bought Sunday is the snack assortment you'll regret Wednesday.
Core Principle
We choose more variety than we'll actually want when picking for the future all at once.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
We choose more variety than we'll actually want when picking for the future all at once.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Subscription bundles and feature menus overestimate variety preference.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
The snack assortment you bought Sunday is the snack assortment you'll regret Wednesday.
Examples
- Buying six different flavors for the week; eating the same one each day in practice.
- Subscription bundles and feature menus overestimate variety preference.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Sequential choices reveal real preference better than simultaneous ones.
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.
- Sequential choices reveal real preference better than simultaneous ones.
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.
Our perception is shaped by what we selectively pay attention to.
Favoring suggestions from automated systems over conflicting human judgment.
Two options seen side-by-side look more different than they are in isolation.
We overestimate the intensity and duration of emotional reactions.
Judging a decision by its outcome rather than by the quality of the process.
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.