Scientific Definition
Stored social capital from prior behavior.
Plain-English Definition
Stored social capital from prior behavior.
Feynman Explanation
Reputation arrives on foot and leaves on horseback.
Core Principle
Stored social capital from prior behavior.
Mechanisms
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Inputs (Triggers)
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Outputs (Behaviors)
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Behavioral Signature
Reputation arrives on foot and leaves on horseback.
Examples
- A repeat seller on a marketplace can charge a premium for the same listing.
- Reputation compounds slower than capital and erodes faster.
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Famous Experiments
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Design Principles
- Invest in reputation as infrastructure, not as PR.
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.
- Invest in reputation as infrastructure, not as PR.
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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.
We defer to perceived expertise, rank, or uniform.
Membership in a group is a baseline human need.
We say yes more often to people we like.
Cooperation between unrelated agents when future reciprocity is likely.
Things feel more valuable when supply or time is limited.
Unwritten rules that govern behavior in a group.
Position in a hierarchy is a primary driver of behavior.
Strong in-group loyalty paired with out-group skepticism.
Shared identity ('we') drives compliance harder than shared interest.
Clear ownership of outcomes, not just tasks.
Asymmetric information attracts the worst counterparties.
Vastness that exceeds existing schemas dissolves the self briefly.