Scientific Definition
People take more risks when they feel safer.
Plain-English Definition
People take more risks when they feel safer.
Feynman Explanation
Seatbelts make some drivers speed.
Core Principle
People take more risks when they feel safer.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
People take more risks when they feel safer.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Safety measures can be undermined by behavioral responses.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Seatbelts make some drivers speed.
Examples
- Better cybersecurity leads employees to use weaker passwords.
- Safety measures can be undermined by behavioral responses.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Monitor behavior after safety improvements, not just outcomes.
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.
- Monitor behavior after safety improvements, not just outcomes.
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.
Preferring options with known probabilities over options with unknown ones.
We overweight outcomes that are certain relative to merely probable ones.
Convex payoffs gain more than they lose; concave do the opposite.
Influence tactics weaponized — manipulation, coercion, exploitation of trust.
Dread weighs roughly double in our calculus what the equivalent gain does.
Build buffers so small mistakes don't become fatal.
Frequent evaluation amplifies loss aversion and produces overly conservative behavior.
The moment after which reversing a course becomes impossible or extremely costly.
We overweight tiny probabilities of large gains or losses.
We ignore probability when outcomes are emotionally charged.
Risk has known probabilities. Uncertainty doesn't.
Risk decisions are driven by current emotion — not just by computed probabilities.