Scientific Definition
Headlines optimized for clicks become editorial policy.
Plain-English Definition
Headlines optimized for clicks become editorial policy.
Feynman Explanation
Truth doesn't trend.
Core Principle
Headlines optimized for clicks become editorial policy.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Headlines optimized for clicks become editorial policy.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Information quality degraded by the medium of distribution.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Truth doesn't trend.
Examples
- Newsrooms quietly restructured around what performs on social.
- Information quality degraded by the medium of distribution.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Subscription models. Quality-weighted distribution.
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.
- Subscription models. Quality-weighted distribution.
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.
Outrage outperforms accuracy on every engagement metric.
Authenticity becomes a performance the moment it becomes a paycheck.
CTR-driven distribution rewards misleading framing over accurate reporting.
Contingency-fee structures shape which cases get filed.
Profit pools concentrate around treating chronic illness, not preventing it.
Discount framing nudges people to buy things they wouldn't otherwise want.
Productivity targets compress visits, raising misdiagnosis and burnout.
A federal mandate intended to lower drug costs for the poor became a profit engine for hospitals and contract pharmacies.
Earn-outs designed to retain founders often demotivate the team they bought.
Funnels rewarded for new logos under-invest in retention and lifetime value.
Free products monetize attention, structurally aligning incentives against user time well spent.
Tenure-track jobs replaced by low-paid adjuncts, lowering cost and quality.