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The Incentives Lab
HBT-IDN-0016 · Dimension IDN · Identity

Just-World Hypothesis

Believing people get what they deserve.

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

Scientific Definition

Believing people get what they deserve.

Plain-English Definition

Believing people get what they deserve.

Feynman Explanation

The market is right when it agrees with us and broken when it doesn't.

Core Principle

Believing people get what they deserve.

Mechanisms

Psychological

Believing people get what they deserve.

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 market is right when it agrees with us and broken when it doesn't.

Examples

Everyday
  • Layoff justifications that assume those let go must have deserved it.
Modern (Organizational)
  • Failure attribution that protects survivors from learning.
Historical

Pending editorial review.

Famous Experiments

Pending editorial review.

Design Principles

  • Force structural analysis before character analysis.

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
Assuming AI 'winners' deserve their lead and AI laggards 'should' fail.
Amplifying Incentives
Failure attribution that protects survivors from learning.
Org Failure Modes
Failure attribution that protects survivors from learning.
Societal Failure Modes
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Ethical Considerations
Pending editorial review (HBT v1.0 auto-seed).
Redesign Strategies
Force structural analysis before character analysis.
Diagnostic Questions
  • Force structural analysis before character analysis.
Warning Signs

Pending editorial review.

Red Flags

Pending editorial review.

Intervention Playbook
Individual
Force structural analysis before character analysis.
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
Assuming AI 'winners' deserve their lead and AI laggards 'should' fail.
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-0016 · IDN
Just-World Hypothesis
JHACAvailability CascadeBEBackfire EffectBPBelief PerseveranceCBConfirmation BiasCBConservatism BiasPBPro-Innovation BiasSRSemmelweis ReflexSBSurvivorship BiasSJSystem JustificationBBBias Blind Spot

Knowledge Graph Neighbors

Version History

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