Mechanism family · v2 taxonomy

Valuation & choice

Patterns involving framing, reference points, gains and losses, option comparison, and preference construction.

Reviewed mapping

18 canonical entries currently belong to this family.

This hub combines direct category mappings with record-level reviews. Duplicate aliases and ambiguous entries stay outside the family discovery layer.

Decision MakingAction Bias – when taking action feels better than doing nothingthe tendency to act in any situation, even when inaction would be more effective.Read entry Cognitive BiasAnchoring Effect – when a starting number pulls later estimates toward itAnchoring Effect is the tendency for an initial number or reference value to pull a later numerical judgment toward it, even when the starting point is weak or not very useful.Read entry Framing EffectContext Neglect Bias – when technology forgets about peoplethe tendency to solve technological challenges without accounting for human behavior and needs.Read entry Framing EffectDecoy Effect – when an inferior option changes the comparison between better optionsDecoy Effect is a context effect in which adding an inferior option can increase the choice share of another option. In the classic attraction-effect setup, the decoy is clearly woRead entry Framing EffectDefault Effect – when a pre-selected option changes what people chooseDefault Effect is the tendency for people to choose an option more often when it is already selected or happens automatically if they do nothing.Read entry Framing EffectDenomination Effect – when the shape of money changes our willingness to spend itThe denomination effect is a tendency to spend equivalent amounts differently depending on how the money is divided. A single large note can feel harder to break than several smallRead entry Framing EffectDistinction Bias – when comparison makes small differences look importantDistinction bias is our tendency to overpredict how much some differences between options will matter when we compare the options side by side. During comparison, tiny gaps are easRead entry Framing EffectDomain Neglect Bias – when you ignore relevant knowledge from other fieldsthe tendency to ignore relevant knowledge from other fields when solving complex problems.Read entry Framing EffectFraming Effect – when equivalent descriptions lead to different choicesFraming Effect is the tendency for a judgment or choice to change when the same underlying information is described in different ways. A common example is risky choice: people can Read entry Extension NeglectLess-Is-Better Effect – when less looks better because the comparison is missingThe less-is-better effect appears when we evaluate a smaller or objectively lower-value option more positively because an easier contextual cue makes it look better, especially wheRead entry Prospect TheoryLoss Aversion – when a loss can carry more weight than an equivalent gainLoss Aversion is the idea that, relative to a reference point, a loss can receive more subjective weight than an equivalent gain. It is an important part of prospect theory, but itRead entry Cognitive BiasMere Exposure Effect – when you like something just because it’s familiarthe tendency to prefer things just because they are familiar.Read entry Cognitive BiasMoney Illusion – when a bigger number feels like more moneythe tendency to focus on the nominal value of money rather than its actual purchasing power.Read entry Cognitive BiasNon-Adaptive Choice Switching – when one bad experience makes you avoid a good choicethe tendency to avoid an optimal choice after one bad outcome.Read entry Cognitive BiasOmission Bias – when doing nothing feels safer than making a mistakethe tendency to view harmful actions as worse than equally harmful inactions.Read entry Cognitive BiasPrevention Bias – favoring preventive security controls over detection and responsePrevention Bias is a domain-specific label from experimental research on information-security investment. In the studied allocation task, participants favored preventive controls oRead entry Prospect TheoryStatus Quo Bias – when the current option gets extra weight because it is already in placeStatus Quo Bias is a tendency to favour the current option more than we would if the same options were presented without one already being in place.Read entry Cognitive BiasUnit Bias – when one unit quietly becomes the ‘right’ amountUnit bias is our tendency to treat one available unit as a natural or appropriate amount to consume or use. The unit may be a serving, a package, a spoonful, one task, one episode,Read entry

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