Scientific Definition
People value gains and losses asymmetrically, and judge relative to a reference point.
Plain-English Definition
People value gains and losses asymmetrically, and judge relative to a reference point.
Feynman Explanation
We are not rational calculators. We are reference-point refugees.
Core Principle
People value gains and losses asymmetrically, and judge relative to a reference point.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
People value gains and losses asymmetrically, and judge relative to a reference point.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Framing and reference points drive employee and customer behavior.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
We are not rational calculators. We are reference-point refugees.
Examples
- A $100 bonus feels different than a $100 salary difference.
- Framing and reference points drive employee and customer behavior.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Design choices around reference points that serve long-term goals.
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.
- Design choices around reference points that serve long-term goals.
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.
Psychological distance shifts thinking between abstract and concrete.
People operate in promotion focus (chasing gains, eager) or prevention focus (avoiding losses, vigilant).
Otto Scharmer's U-shaped process for moving from habitual response to sensing what wants to emerge.
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.