Skip to main content
The Incentives Lab
HBT-COG-0487 · Dimension COG · Cognition

Moving the Goalposts

Changing success criteria whenever the prior criteria are met.

Definition Fallacy·Logical Fallacy·Grade B·stub· enriching…

Scientific Definition

Changing success criteria whenever the prior criteria are met.

Plain-English Definition

Changing success criteria whenever the prior criteria are met.

Feynman Explanation

We hit the number. Now there's a new number.

Core Principle

Changing success criteria whenever the prior criteria are met.

Mechanisms

Psychological

Changing success criteria whenever the prior criteria are met.

Behavioral Economic

Pending editorial review.

Neurological

Pending editorial review.

Evolutionary

Pending editorial review.

Sociological

Pending editorial review.

Computational

Pending editorial review.

Systems

Pending editorial review.

Inputs (Triggers)

Pending editorial review.

Outputs (Behaviors)

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Signature

We hit the number. Now there's a new number.

Examples

Everyday
  • Targets quietly redefined after every quarter.
Modern (Organizational)
  • Strategy where 'winning' is permanently one quarter away.
Historical

Pending editorial review.

Famous Experiments

Pending editorial review.

Design Principles

Pending editorial review.

Measurement Approaches

Pending editorial review.

Evidence

Evidence Grade
B (A strongest → E speculative)
Replication
★★★☆☆
Intervention Confidence
3 / 5
Consensus
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Limitations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Open Research Questions

Pending editorial review.

Primary References

Pending editorial review.

Signature Section

The Perverse Incentive Lens™

How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.

Exploitation
Strategy where 'winning' is permanently one quarter away.
Amplifying Incentives
Strategy where 'winning' is permanently one quarter away.
Org Failure Modes
Strategy where 'winning' is permanently one quarter away.
Societal Failure Modes
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Ethical Considerations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Redesign Strategies
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Diagnostic Questions

Pending editorial review.

Warning Signs

Pending editorial review.

Red Flags

Pending editorial review.

Intervention Playbook
Individual
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Team
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Organization
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Policy
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
AI Implications
Detection
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Measurement
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Mitigation
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Responsible Use
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).

Interactive Mini Network

Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.

HBT-COG-0487 · COG
Moving the Goalposts
MTBTBegging the QuestionCRCircular ReasoningCFComposition FallacyCFContinuum FallacyDRDefinitional RetreatDFDivision FallacyETEither-Or Trap (more…EFEtymological FallacyFEFalse EquivalenceMGMiddle Ground Fallacy

Knowledge Graph Neighbors

Version History

v1.1.0 · 2026-06-28Initial auto-seed from corpus.