Scientific Definition
Behavior emerges from structure, not from individuals.
Plain-English Definition
Behavior emerges from structure, not from individuals.
Feynman Explanation
Blame the system. People are usually responding to it rationally.
Core Principle
Behavior emerges from structure, not from individuals.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Behavior emerges from structure, not from individuals.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Diagnosing organizational dysfunction at the incentive layer.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Blame the system. People are usually responding to it rationally.
Examples
- Bad outcomes from good people = system design failure.
- Diagnosing organizational dysfunction at the incentive layer.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Always ask: 'What system is producing this behavior reliably?'
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.
- Always ask: 'What system is producing this behavior reliably?'
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.
Stocks are accumulations; flows are rates of change that affect them.
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.