Scientific Definition
Decisions are shaped by who we believe we are — not only by monetary payoffs.
Plain-English Definition
Decisions are shaped by who we believe we are — not only by monetary payoffs.
Feynman Explanation
People pay real money to keep being the kind of person they think they are.
Core Principle
Decisions are shaped by who we believe we are — not only by monetary payoffs.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Decisions are shaped by who we believe we are — not only by monetary payoffs.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Brand, role, and culture are identity infrastructure for behavior.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
People pay real money to keep being the kind of person they think they are.
Examples
- Akerlof & Kranton: occupational identity, group norms, and self-concept in economic choice.
- Brand, role, and culture are identity infrastructure for behavior.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Design incentives that fit the identity you want people to enact — or watch them rebel.
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.
- Design incentives that fit the identity you want people to enact — or watch them rebel.
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.
Evaluating an argument's logic based on whether you agree with the conclusion.
Decisions optimize utility, not value.
Probability × payoff, summed across outcomes.
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.
How much we value the present over the future.