Scientific Definition
One party has more or better information than another.
Plain-English Definition
One party has more or better information than another.
Feynman Explanation
The seller knows the flaw. The buyer learns the hard way.
Core Principle
One party has more or better information than another.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
One party has more or better information than another.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
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Markets and negotiations are shaped by who knows what.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
The seller knows the flaw. The buyer learns the hard way.
Examples
- A job candidate knows their weaknesses better than the interviewer.
- Markets and negotiations are shaped by who knows what.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Reduce asymmetry through verification, signals, and transparency.
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.
- Reduce asymmetry through verification, signals, and transparency.
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.
Exploiting price differences between markets for risk-free profit.
The study of how real humans actually decide — bounded, social, emotional, and inconsistent.
With clear property rights and low transaction costs, parties negotiate to efficient outcomes.
Specialize in what you give up the least to do.
Complements raise each other's value; substitutes lower it.
Fixed costs don't scale with output; variable costs do.
Innovation destroys old industries and creates new ones.
Each additional unit produces less marginal benefit.
A long-run planner self in conflict with a short-run impulsive self.
Owning something raises its valuation — sellers want more to give it up than buyers will pay to acquire.
Bad money drives out good when both are legally equivalent.
The mythical fully rational, self-interested, utility-maximizing agent neoclassical models assume.