Scientific Definition
How outcomes are weighted in the decision calculus.
Plain-English Definition
How outcomes are weighted in the decision calculus.
Feynman Explanation
Tell me your loss function and I'll predict your decisions.
Core Principle
How outcomes are weighted in the decision calculus.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
How outcomes are weighted in the decision calculus.
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Most strategy disputes are loss-function disputes.
Inputs (Triggers)
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Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Tell me your loss function and I'll predict your decisions.
Examples
- ML models optimize loss functions explicitly. Companies do it implicitly.
- Most strategy disputes are loss-function disputes.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Make the loss function explicit in every major decision.
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.
- Make the loss function explicit in every major decision.
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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.
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.