Scientific Definition
Judging only results ignores ethics of process and rewards shortcuts that look like wins.
Plain-English Definition
Judging only results ignores ethics of process and rewards shortcuts that look like wins.
Feynman Explanation
If the only question is 'did it work,' someone will cheat to make it work.
Core Principle
Judging only results ignores ethics of process and rewards shortcuts that look like wins.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Judging only results ignores ethics of process and rewards shortcuts that look like wins.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Process integrity is part of outcome quality.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
If the only question is 'did it work,' someone will cheat to make it work.
Examples
- Wells Fargo, Volkswagen emissions, exam cheating scandals.
- Process integrity is part of outcome quality.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Process audits. How-we-won reviews.
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.
- Process audits. How-we-won reviews.
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.
Once-a-year feedback rewards once-a-year behavior.
The more a quantitative indicator drives decisions, the more it distorts the process it measures.
Donors penalize 'overhead'; charities under-invest in capacity.
Donors penalize 'overhead' and starve capacity that produces outcomes.
A reward designed to reduce X produces more X.
Squeezing all slack from a system optimizes throughput but eliminates resilience.
'Equal value' exchanges incentivize subjective appraisal gaming to trade low-utility land for high-value public assets.
When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.
Deep specialization improves local output but breaks cross-domain understanding.
Greedy improvement loops climb hills that aren't the highest hill.
When rewards don't match stated values, culture quietly decays toward what is rewarded.
Insulation from risk changes the risks people take.