Scientific Definition
We disproportionately prefer rewards now over rewards later.
Plain-English Definition
We disproportionately prefer rewards now over rewards later.
Feynman Explanation
Long-term value is rounded down by the next earnings call.
Core Principle
We disproportionately prefer rewards now over rewards later.
Mechanisms
We disproportionately prefer rewards now over rewards later.
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Inputs (Triggers)
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Outputs (Behaviors)
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Behavioral Signature
Long-term value is rounded down by the next earnings call.
Examples
- R&D cuts to make a quarter, then rationalized as 'efficiency.'
- Strategic patience punished by quarterly time horizons.
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Famous Experiments
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Design Principles
- Time-weighted decision models. Multi-year scorecards alongside quarterly ones.
Measurement Approaches
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Evidence
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The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Time-weighted decision models. Multi-year scorecards alongside quarterly ones.
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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.
Doing something feels safer than doing nothing — even when nothing wins.
Feelings act as shortcuts for facts.
Over-reliance on the first number that hits the table.
Adding a clearly worse option steers people toward the option you wanted.
Whatever is pre-selected wins more often than it should.
We value things more once they're ours.
The same information lands differently depending on how it's wrapped.
We overvalue things we built ourselves.
Believing more information leads to better decisions, regardless of relevance.
When trivial metrics become the target, the trivial becomes the strategy.
Losses hurt roughly twice as much as equivalent gains feel good.
We treat money differently depending on which bucket it's in.