Scientific Definition
Wish → Outcome → Obstacle → Plan. A goal-setting protocol from Oettingen.
Plain-English Definition
Wish → Outcome → Obstacle → Plan. A goal-setting protocol from Oettingen.
Feynman Explanation
Vision boards minus the magical thinking.
Core Principle
Wish → Outcome → Obstacle → Plan. A goal-setting protocol from Oettingen.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Wish → Outcome → Obstacle → Plan. A goal-setting protocol from Oettingen.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Simple operating ritual for goal-setting that survives execution.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Vision boards minus the magical thinking.
Examples
- Used in education, healthcare, and behavior change at scale.
- Simple operating ritual for goal-setting that survives execution.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Adopt as a planning template. Refuse goals submitted without obstacles.
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.
- Adopt as a planning template. Refuse goals submitted without obstacles.
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.
Giving someone artificial early progress increases the chance they finish.
Temporal landmarks (Monday, January, birthday) trigger new behavior attempts.
What people expect of themselves shapes what they achieve.
If-then plans dramatically increase follow-through on intentions.
Children who delay gratification at age 4 show better outcomes across nearly every metric decades later.
Contrast vivid future success with concrete present obstacles to drive action.
Interrupted tasks generate a pull to resume them.
Unfinished tasks stick in working memory more than completed ones.
How will I feel about this in 10 minutes / 10 months / 10 years?
Basics first (health/finances), then depth (mastery/impact), then altruism (widening circle).
A group decides on a course of action that nobody actually wants, because everyone assumes others prefer it.
Inattention or forgetfulness caused by low attention, hyperfocus, or distraction.