Scientific Definition
Visible information about decisions, processes, and tradeoffs.
Plain-English Definition
Visible information about decisions, processes, and tradeoffs.
Feynman Explanation
Sunlight is a feature; surveillance is a bug; tell them apart.
Core Principle
Visible information about decisions, processes, and tradeoffs.
Mechanisms
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Inputs (Triggers)
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Outputs (Behaviors)
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Behavioral Signature
Sunlight is a feature; surveillance is a bug; tell them apart.
Examples
- Open salary bands reduce attrition more than incremental raises.
- Selective transparency erodes faster than no transparency at all.
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Famous Experiments
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Design Principles
- Default to disclosure; redact for cause, not by habit.
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.
- Default to disclosure; redact for cause, not by habit.
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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.
Competing loyalties that compromise judgment.
Perceived fairness of outcomes, process, and treatment.
Clear ownership of outcomes, not just tasks.
Asymmetric information attracts the worst counterparties.
We defer to perceived expertise, rank, or uniform.
Vastness that exceeds existing schemas dissolves the self briefly.
Negative feedback returns a system toward a target.
Membership in a group is a baseline human need.
Individually rational choices that produce a collectively bad outcome.
We seek tasks where we feel effective and improving.
Value is judged against whatever sits next to it.
Outcomes depend on aligning choices, not on who 'wins.'