Scientific Definition
We overestimate the intensity and duration of emotional reactions.
Plain-English Definition
We overestimate the intensity and duration of emotional reactions.
Feynman Explanation
The bad news will not hurt as much as you fear. The good news will not last as long as you hope.
Core Principle
We overestimate the intensity and duration of emotional reactions.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
We overestimate the intensity and duration of emotional reactions.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
People adapt faster than expected to both wins and losses.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
The bad news will not hurt as much as you fear. The good news will not last as long as you hope.
Examples
- A feared reorganization is less disruptive than predicted.
- People adapt faster than expected to both wins and losses.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Use historical adaptation data, not imagination, to predict impact.
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.
- Use historical adaptation data, not imagination, to predict impact.
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 choose more variety than we'll actually want when picking for the future all at once.
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.