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The Incentives Lab
HBT-COG-0609 · Dimension COG · Cognition

Selling and Being Sold

Every interaction is bidirectional persuasion — you're never just the seller or the buyer.

Social·Mental Model·Grade B·draft· enriching…

Scientific Definition

Every interaction is bidirectional persuasion — you're never just the seller or the buyer.

Plain-English Definition

Every interaction is bidirectional persuasion — you're never just the seller or the buyer.

Feynman Explanation

By the time you realize you're being sold, you've usually been bought.

Core Principle

Every interaction is bidirectional persuasion — you're never just the seller or the buyer.

Mechanisms

Psychological

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Economic

Every interaction is bidirectional persuasion — you're never just the seller or the buyer.

Neurological

Pending editorial review.

Evolutionary

Pending editorial review.

Sociological

Pending editorial review.

Computational

Pending editorial review.

Systems

Procurement, vendor management, and partnership negotiation.

Inputs (Triggers)

Pending editorial review.

Outputs (Behaviors)

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Signature

By the time you realize you're being sold, you've usually been bought.

Examples

Everyday
  • Brown's ninth lecture, integrating Cialdini's principles with organizational behavior.
Modern (Organizational)
  • Procurement, vendor management, and partnership negotiation.
Historical

Pending editorial review.

Famous Experiments

Pending editorial review.

Design Principles

  • Name the frame: 'What is being sold here, and to whom?' before deciding.

Measurement Approaches

Pending editorial review.

Evidence

Evidence Grade
B (A strongest → E speculative)
Replication
★★★☆☆
Intervention Confidence
3 / 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
Procurement, vendor management, and partnership negotiation.
Amplifying Incentives
Procurement, vendor management, and partnership negotiation.
Org Failure Modes
Procurement, vendor management, and partnership negotiation.
Societal Failure Modes
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Ethical Considerations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Redesign Strategies
Name the frame: 'What is being sold here, and to whom?' before deciding.
Diagnostic Questions
  • Name the frame: 'What is being sold here, and to whom?' before deciding.
Warning Signs

Pending editorial review.

Red Flags

Pending editorial review.

Intervention Playbook
Individual
Name the frame: 'What is being sold here, and to whom?' before deciding.
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
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
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-0609 · COG
Selling and Being Sold
SAAPAbilene ParadoxADActon's DictumABActor-Observer BiasALAffinity / Liking BiasAlAltruismAsAstroturfingAPAttitude PolarizationABAttribution BiasBEBarnum EffectBJBecause Justification

Knowledge Graph Neighbors

Version History

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