Scientific Definition
The satisfaction or value a person derives from an outcome — the unit economists try to maximize.
Plain-English Definition
The satisfaction or value a person derives from an outcome — the unit economists try to maximize.
Feynman Explanation
Useful abstraction. Misleading metric.
Core Principle
The satisfaction or value a person derives from an outcome — the unit economists try to maximize.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
The satisfaction or value a person derives from an outcome — the unit economists try to maximize.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Customer 'value' is a utility claim that often confuses the three.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Useful abstraction. Misleading metric.
Examples
- Expected utility (rational) vs. experienced utility (felt) vs. remembered utility (recalled).
- Customer 'value' is a utility claim that often confuses the three.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Distinguish predicted, experienced, and remembered utility in any decision about people.
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.
- Distinguish predicted, experienced, and remembered utility in any decision about people.
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.
Each additional unit of a good provides less satisfaction than the previous one.
Exploiting price differences between markets for risk-free profit.
The study of how real humans actually decide — bounded, social, emotional, and inconsistent.
With clear property rights and low transaction costs, parties negotiate to efficient outcomes.
Specialize in what you give up the least to do.
Complements raise each other's value; substitutes lower it.
Fixed costs don't scale with output; variable costs do.
Innovation destroys old industries and creates new ones.
Each additional unit produces less marginal benefit.
A long-run planner self in conflict with a short-run impulsive self.
Owning something raises its valuation — sellers want more to give it up than buyers will pay to acquire.
Bad money drives out good when both are legally equivalent.