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The Incentives Lab
HBT-COG-0551 · Dimension COG · Cognition

Pride

Positive self-evaluation tied to recognized achievement.

Emotion·Concept·Grade C·draft· enriching…

Scientific Definition

Positive self-evaluation tied to recognized achievement.

Plain-English Definition

Positive self-evaluation tied to recognized achievement.

Feynman Explanation

Pride well-placed is rocket fuel; misplaced, it's a sunk cost.

Core Principle

Positive self-evaluation tied to recognized achievement.

Mechanisms

Psychological

Pending editorial review.

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

Pride well-placed is rocket fuel; misplaced, it's a sunk cost.

Examples

Everyday
  • Craft pride keeps engineers fixing things nobody asked them to fix.
Modern (Organizational)
  • Pride in legacy systems blocks necessary deprecation.
Historical

Pending editorial review.

Famous Experiments

Pending editorial review.

Design Principles

  • Attach pride to outcomes for users, not artifacts.

Measurement Approaches

Pending editorial review.

Evidence

Evidence Grade
C (A strongest → E speculative)
Replication
★★☆☆☆
Intervention Confidence
2 / 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
Authorship pride slows AI-assisted code review.
Amplifying Incentives
Pride in legacy systems blocks necessary deprecation.
Org Failure Modes
Pride in legacy systems blocks necessary deprecation.
Societal Failure Modes
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Ethical Considerations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Redesign Strategies
Attach pride to outcomes for users, not artifacts.
Diagnostic Questions
  • Attach pride to outcomes for users, not artifacts.
Warning Signs

Pending editorial review.

Red Flags

Pending editorial review.

Intervention Playbook
Individual
Attach pride to outcomes for users, not artifacts.
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
Authorship pride slows AI-assisted code review.
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-0551 · COG
Pride
PrAwAweFeFearShShameAcAccountabilityASAdverse SelectionAuAuthorityBLBalancing LoopBeBelongingCACollective Action Pr…CoCompetence

Knowledge Graph Neighbors

Version History

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