Implementation Intentions is pre-committing the exact when, where, and how of a behavior — 'if X, then Y.'. It sits in the Cognition dimension (COG) of the Human Behavior Taxonomy™ as element HBT-COG-0387, within the Decision family. The core principle: pre-committing the exact when, where, and how of a behavior — 'if X, then Y.'. In incentive terms, it matters because it changes the payoff people perceive before they choose — which means it can be designed for, or exploited.
Scientific Definition
Pre-committing the exact when, where, and how of a behavior — 'if X, then Y.'
Plain-English Definition
Pre-committing the exact when, where, and how of a behavior — 'if X, then Y.'
Feynman Explanation
Willpower is finite. If-then plans are free.
Core Principle
Pre-committing the exact when, where, and how of a behavior — 'if X, then Y.'
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Pre-committing the exact when, where, and how of a behavior — 'if X, then Y.'
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Why operating rhythms beat aspirational OKRs.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Willpower is finite. If-then plans are free.
Examples
- Gollwitzer's research — 'I will go for a run' at ~35% follow-through vs 'I will run at 7am after coffee' at ~91%.
- Why operating rhythms beat aspirational OKRs.
Pending editorial review.
Original analysis from The Incentives Lab — how this element behaves inside real payoff structures.
Why this element matters to incentive design
This element is common enough to feel like human nature and specific enough to be engineered around. The mechanism underneath it is straightforward: pre-committing the exact when, where, and how of a behavior — 'if X, then Y.'. You can recognize it in the field by its signature: willpower is finite. If-then plans are free. Every element in the Cognition dimension changes the perceived payoff of an action before the action happens, which is exactly where incentive design has leverage.
How it gets exploited
Left undesigned, why operating rhythms beat aspirational OKRs. It is amplified whenever why operating rhythms beat aspirational OKRs. Inside organizations that shows up as why operating rhythms beat aspirational OKRs. The pattern is the same one Goodhart's Law describes: the measurable proxy attracts the effort, and the purpose behind it quietly loses funding.
How the Lab designs around it
The redesign move is to convert every commitment into an if-then sentence before leaving the meeting. Design against it the way you would design against a known failure mode — assume it will appear, and price the exploit before someone finds it.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Convert every commitment into an if-then sentence before leaving the meeting.
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.
- Convert every commitment into an if-then sentence before leaving the meeting.
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.
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.
Decisions are constrained by available information, cognitive limits, and time.
The ability to focus on one voice in a noisy environment.
Where Implementation Intentions is cited in the corpus
Essays, field guides, and diagnostics from The Incentives Lab that apply this element.
- EssayGoodhart's Law in the Real World
How measurable proxies capture judgment.
- EssayThe Perverse Incentives Hiding in Your KPIs
Cognitive shortcuts turned into scorecards.
- EssayAI Agents Inherit Your Incentives
How this element propagates into automated systems.
- ReferenceThe Periodic Table of Human Behavior
The full 1,267-element map this page belongs to.
- ReferenceThe incentive glossary
Definitions for every mental model, bias, and fallacy in the corpus.
Questions about Implementation Intentions
- What is Implementation Intentions?
- Implementation Intentions is pre-committing the exact when, where, and how of a behavior — 'if X, then Y.'. It sits in the Cognition dimension (COG) of the Human Behavior Taxonomy™ as element HBT-COG-0387, within the Decision family. The core principle: pre-committing the exact when, where, and how of a behavior — 'if X, then Y.'. In incentive terms, it matters because it changes the payoff people perceive before they choose — which means it can be designed for, or exploited.
- What is an example of Implementation Intentions?
- Why operating rhythms beat aspirational OKRs. The Incentives Lab catalogs everyday, organizational, and historical instances of this element on its Human Behavior Taxonomy™ page (HBT-COG-0387).
- How is Implementation Intentions exploited?
- Why operating rhythms beat aspirational OKRs.
- How do you design around Implementation Intentions?
- Convert every commitment into an if-then sentence before leaving the meeting.
- Which behavioral dimension does Implementation Intentions belong to?
- Implementation Intentions is classified in the Cognition dimension (COG) of the Human Behavior Taxonomy™, family "Decision", class "Mental Model". Its permanent identifier is HBT-COG-0387 and its evidence grade is B.