Scientific Definition
Spreading limited resources evenly across options regardless of merit.
Plain-English Definition
Spreading limited resources evenly across options regardless of merit.
Feynman Explanation
1/N for the brain that does not want to do math.
Core Principle
Spreading limited resources evenly across options regardless of merit.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Spreading limited resources evenly across options regardless of merit.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Portfolio and budget allocations skew toward the menu structure, not the optimum.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
1/N for the brain that does not want to do math.
Examples
- 401(k) participants splitting equally across whichever funds are listed.
- Portfolio and budget allocations skew toward the menu structure, not the optimum.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Force-rank options. Then allocate. Not the other way around.
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.
- Force-rank options. Then allocate. Not the other way around.
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.