Scientific Definition
We accept vague, general statements as personally meaningful.
Plain-English Definition
We accept vague, general statements as personally meaningful.
Feynman Explanation
You are a person who sometimes doubts yourself. Revolutionary.
Core Principle
We accept vague, general statements as personally meaningful.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
We accept vague, general statements as personally meaningful.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Personality tests and horoscopes both exploit this.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
You are a person who sometimes doubts yourself. Revolutionary.
Examples
- Employees rate generic personality feedback as highly accurate.
- Personality tests and horoscopes both exploit this.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Ask for specific predictions before trusting any assessment.
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.
- Ask for specific predictions before trusting any assessment.
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.
We come to like people we've done a favor for, more than people who've helped us.
Subconscious preference for numbers (and letters) that appear in our own name or birthday.
A persuasive message produces the opposite of its intended effect.
The threat of retaliation suppresses legitimate speech or action.
Higher rates of mistreatment toward stepchildren than biological children.
Renewed interest in a stimulus when a novel stimulus is introduced.
We recognize faces from our own race more accurately than others.
Underestimating how common our positive traits and behaviors are.
We accept vague, positive personality descriptions as highly accurate.
People change behavior when they know they are being observed.
Competent people become more likable after a small visible mistake.
A group decides on a course of action that nobody actually wants, because everyone assumes others prefer it.