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The Incentives Lab
HBT-IDN-0007 · Dimension IDN · Identity

Conservatism Bias

Updating beliefs too slowly when new evidence arrives.

Belief Bias·Cognitive Bias·Grade B·draft· enriching…

Scientific Definition

Updating beliefs too slowly when new evidence arrives.

Plain-English Definition

Updating beliefs too slowly when new evidence arrives.

Feynman Explanation

The model is rotting. We'll change it next quarter.

Core Principle

Updating beliefs too slowly when new evidence arrives.

Mechanisms

Psychological

Updating beliefs too slowly when new evidence arrives.

Behavioral Economic

Pending editorial review.

Neurological

Pending editorial review.

Evolutionary

Pending editorial review.

Sociological

Pending editorial review.

Computational

Pending editorial review.

Systems

Pending editorial review.

Inputs (Triggers)

Pending editorial review.

Outputs (Behaviors)

Pending editorial review.

Behavioral Signature

The model is rotting. We'll change it next quarter.

Examples

Everyday
  • Strategy unchanged for years despite clear, accumulating disconfirmation.
Modern (Organizational)
  • Beliefs lag reality by structurally too many quarters.
Historical

Pending editorial review.

Famous Experiments

Pending editorial review.

Design Principles

  • Pre-define disconfirming evidence and the speed at which it should move your priors.

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
AI capability assumptions frozen at last year's model performance.
Amplifying Incentives
Beliefs lag reality by structurally too many quarters.
Org Failure Modes
Beliefs lag reality by structurally too many quarters.
Societal Failure Modes
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Ethical Considerations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Redesign Strategies
Pre-define disconfirming evidence and the speed at which it should move your priors.
Diagnostic Questions
  • Pre-define disconfirming evidence and the speed at which it should move your priors.
Warning Signs

Pending editorial review.

Red Flags

Pending editorial review.

Intervention Playbook
Individual
Pre-define disconfirming evidence and the speed at which it should move your priors.
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
AI capability assumptions frozen at last year's model performance.
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-IDN-0007 · IDN
Conservatism Bias
CBACAvailability CascadeBEBackfire EffectBPBelief PerseveranceCBConfirmation BiasJHJust-World HypothesisPBPro-Innovation BiasSRSemmelweis ReflexSBSurvivorship BiasSJSystem JustificationBBBias Blind Spot

Knowledge Graph Neighbors

Version History

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