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The Incentives Lab
HBT-CUL-0007 · Dimension CUL · Culture

vMeme

A value system — a structured way of making meaning that emerges at a particular life-condition stage.

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

Scientific Definition

A value system — a structured way of making meaning that emerges at a particular life-condition stage.

Plain-English Definition

A value system — a structured way of making meaning that emerges at a particular life-condition stage.

Feynman Explanation

Worldviews aren't opinions. They're operating systems.

Core Principle

A value system — a structured way of making meaning that emerges at a particular life-condition stage.

Mechanisms

Psychological

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Economic

A value system — a structured way of making meaning that emerges at a particular life-condition stage.

Neurological

Pending editorial review.

Evolutionary

Pending editorial review.

Sociological

Pending editorial review.

Computational

Pending editorial review.

Systems

Different vMemes respond to different incentives, narratives, and authority structures.

Inputs (Triggers)

Pending editorial review.

Outputs (Behaviors)

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Signature

Worldviews aren't opinions. They're operating systems.

Examples

Everyday
  • Beck & Cowan, drawing on Clare Graves's longitudinal research.
Modern (Organizational)
  • Different vMemes respond to different incentives, narratives, and authority structures.
Historical

Pending editorial review.

Famous Experiments

Pending editorial review.

Design Principles

  • Speak in the vMeme of the audience first. Only then can you move them upward.

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
Different vMemes respond to different incentives, narratives, and authority structures.
Amplifying Incentives
Different vMemes respond to different incentives, narratives, and authority structures.
Org Failure Modes
Different vMemes respond to different incentives, narratives, and authority structures.
Societal Failure Modes
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Ethical Considerations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Redesign Strategies
Speak in the vMeme of the audience first. Only then can you move them upward.
Diagnostic Questions
  • Speak in the vMeme of the audience first. Only then can you move them upward.
Warning Signs

Pending editorial review.

Red Flags

Pending editorial review.

Intervention Playbook
Individual
Speak in the vMeme of the audience first. Only then can you move them upward.
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-CUL-0007 · CUL
vMeme
VMBVBlue vMemeGVGreen vMemeOVOrange vMemeRVRed vMemeYVYellow vMemeNFNarrative FallacyNINarrative IdentityCTCultural Tightness-L…FTFirst-Tier ThinkingInIndividualism-Collec…

Knowledge Graph Neighbors

Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.

Same family
HBT-CUL-0001Blue vMeme

Order, discipline, hierarchy, principle, and rule-based value system. The 'right way' to do things.

Same family
HBT-CUL-0002Green vMeme

The communitarian, egalitarian, consensus-seeking value system. Emerged strongly post-1960s.

Same family
HBT-CUL-0005Orange vMeme

The achievement-driven, rational, strategic, market-oriented value system. Most of Western corporate life.

Same family
HBT-CUL-0006Red vMeme

Egocentric, power-driven, immediate-gratification value system. The will to dominate.

Same family
HBT-CUL-0008Yellow vMeme

The integrative, systemic, flexible value system — the first of second-tier.

Same domain
HBT-CUL-0003Narrative Fallacy

We prefer stories over raw facts, even when the story is misleading.

Same domain
HBT-CUL-0004Narrative Identity

We construct a coherent life story; that story shapes future decisions.

Shared keywords
HBT-COG-0211Cultural Tightness-Looseness

Cultures vary in how strictly norms are enforced and deviance punished.

Shared keywords
HBT-COG-0319First-Tier Thinking

Each value system (Beige through Green) believes itself to be the only valid one and dismisses the others.

Shared keywords
HBT-COG-0396Individualism-Collectivism

The relative weight a culture gives to individual goals vs. group cohesion.

Shared keywords
HBT-COG-0442Life Conditions (Graves)

The combination of historical, social, and existential pressures that activates the next vMeme.

Shared keywords
HBT-COG-0538Power Distance

How much hierarchical inequality a culture accepts as normal.

Version History

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