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The Incentives Lab
HBT-EMO-0009 · Dimension EMO · Emotion

Spillover Effect

Effects of an intervention spread to other areas beyond the intended target.

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

Scientific Definition

Effects of an intervention spread to other areas beyond the intended target.

Plain-English Definition

Effects of an intervention spread to other areas beyond the intended target.

Feynman Explanation

Fix one thing, break another. Or help another.

Core Principle

Effects of an intervention spread to other areas beyond the intended target.

Mechanisms

Psychological

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Economic

Effects of an intervention spread to other areas beyond the intended target.

Neurological

Pending editorial review.

Evolutionary

Pending editorial review.

Sociological

Pending editorial review.

Computational

Pending editorial review.

Systems

Local changes have systemic consequences.

Inputs (Triggers)

Pending editorial review.

Outputs (Behaviors)

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Signature

Fix one thing, break another. Or help another.

Examples

Everyday
  • A new sales process improves one region but creates chaos in another.
Modern (Organizational)
  • Local changes have systemic consequences.
Historical

Pending editorial review.

Famous Experiments

Pending editorial review.

Design Principles

  • Map second-order effects before rolling out changes.

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
Local changes have systemic consequences.
Amplifying Incentives
Local changes have systemic consequences.
Org Failure Modes
Local changes have systemic consequences.
Societal Failure Modes
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Ethical Considerations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Redesign Strategies
Map second-order effects before rolling out changes.
Diagnostic Questions
  • Map second-order effects before rolling out changes.
Warning Signs

Pending editorial review.

Red Flags

Pending editorial review.

Intervention Playbook
Individual
Map second-order effects before rolling out changes.
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-EMO-0009 · EMO
Spillover Effect
SEAFAffective ForecastingAKAwe (Keltner)CTCuriosity TendencyEBEmotional BiasEHEmotional HijackingEIEmotional Intelligen…FAFading Affect BiasFUFear, Uncertainty, D…AEActivation EnergyAlAlloying

Knowledge Graph Neighbors

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

Version History

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