Scientific Definition
We miss unexpected events when focused on something else.
Plain-English Definition
We miss unexpected events when focused on something else.
Feynman Explanation
You cannot see the gorilla if you are counting passes.
Core Principle
We miss unexpected events when focused on something else.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
We miss unexpected events when focused on something else.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Focus creates blindness.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
You cannot see the gorilla if you are counting passes.
Examples
- A team misses a market shift because they are fixated on a competitor.
- Focus creates blindness.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Rotate attention and build 'look up' rituals.
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.
- Rotate attention and build 'look up' rituals.
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.
Forgetting to compare an offer with the next-best alternative.
How will I feel about this in 10 minutes / 10 months / 10 years?
Inattention or forgetfulness caused by low attention, hyperfocus, or distraction.
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.