Scientific Definition
Stocks are accumulations; flows are rates of change that affect them.
Plain-English Definition
Stocks are accumulations; flows are rates of change that affect them.
Feynman Explanation
You cannot understand a bathtub by watching the faucet alone.
Core Principle
Stocks are accumulations; flows are rates of change that affect them.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Stocks are accumulations; flows are rates of change that affect them.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Managing stocks requires managing flows, not just levels.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
You cannot understand a bathtub by watching the faucet alone.
Examples
- Cash, inventory, and reputation are stocks fed by inflows and drained by outflows.
- Managing stocks requires managing flows, not just levels.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Map the inflows, outflows, and feedback loops for every key stock.
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.
- Map the inflows, outflows, and feedback loops for every key stock.
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.
Map reinforcing (R) and balancing (B) feedback loops between variables to see system behavior.
A system with many interacting parts that learn and adapt.
Many interacting parts producing emergent behavior nobody designed.
Interdependent network of actors evolving together.
The whole has properties that the individual parts do not.
Systems maintain stability by self-regulating around a setpoint.
Outputs of a system are routed back as inputs, amplifying or dampening change.
Behavior emerges from structure, not from individuals.
Old systems decline as new ones emerge in parallel; leaders steward both, not just kill the old or chase the new.
Systems that gain from disorder.
Approach motivation — pursuit of rewards and goals.
Avoidance motivation — sensitivity to punishment, uncertainty, and threat.