Scientific Definition
Once any player dopes, everyone is forced to consider it.
Plain-English Definition
Once any player dopes, everyone is forced to consider it.
Feynman Explanation
A race to the bottom is still a race.
Core Principle
Once any player dopes, everyone is forced to consider it.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Once any player dopes, everyone is forced to consider it.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Norm erosion is structurally hard to reverse without enforcement.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
A race to the bottom is still a race.
Examples
- Pre-WADA cycling. Many pro sports historically.
- Norm erosion is structurally hard to reverse without enforcement.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Credible enforcement. Severe consequences.
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.
- Credible enforcement. Severe consequences.
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.
Bad teams 'tank' for better draft positions.
Coaches paid on titles take more risk; coaches paid on attendance take less.
Punishing failure more than rewarding success kills the conditions for innovation.
Concentrated benefits + diffused costs = the few win against the many.
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.
Training for appearance can crowd out mobility, longevity, and mental health.