7
Cognitive
Generated Library
Model Library
A validated catalog of 40 models spanning cognitive, behavioral, social, emotional, decision, and developmental frameworks.
6
Behavioral
7
Social
6
Emotional
7
Decision
7
Developmental
Cognitive (7)
Biases, perception, memory, reasoning, and self-monitoring.
cognitive
---
The tendency to rely heavily on the first piece of information encountered (the "anchor") when making decisions or estimates — subsequent judgments adjust from the anchor but rarely far enough.
judgment numbers negotiation estimation first-impression
cognitive
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Judging the likelihood of an event based on how easily an example comes to mind — rather than actual statistical frequency.
memory probability risk judgment shortcut
cognitive
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The mental discomfort experienced when holding two contradictory beliefs, values, or behaviors simultaneously — driving the mind to resolve the tension by changing one of them.
belief conflict rationalization motivation consistency
cognitive
---
The tendency to search for, interpret, and recall information in a way that confirms one's pre-existing beliefs while ignoring contradicting evidence.
belief perception search reasoning information
cognitive
---
People with low competence in a domain overestimate their ability, while highly competent people underestimate theirs — because the skills needed to evaluate performance are the same skills required to perform.
competence confidence metacognition learning self-assessment
cognitive
---
The halo effect occurs when one positive trait or impression causes people to assume unrelated positive qualities, distorting overall judgment.
perception judgment bias reputation generalization
cognitive
---
Thinking about one's own thinking — the ability to monitor, evaluate, and regulate cognitive processes, leading to more accurate self-assessment and better learning outcomes.
self-awareness learning thinking regulation accuracy
Behavioral (6)
Habits, conditioning, reinforcement, motivation, and learned behavior.
behavioral
---
Classical conditioning is learning by association, where a previously neutral cue comes to trigger a response after repeated pairing with a meaningful stimulus.
conditioning association learning stimulus behavior
behavioral
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Habits are formed and maintained through a three-part neurological loop: cue → routine → reward — and can be changed by keeping the cue and reward while swapping the routine.
habit routine reward cue behavior-change
behavioral
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Behavior is shaped by its consequences — behaviors followed by rewards increase in frequency; behaviors followed by punishments decrease. The schedule of reinforcement determines how robust the behavior becomes.
reward punishment reinforcement learning behavior-change
behavioral
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Self-determination theory explains how motivation becomes more sustainable and effective when the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are supported.
motivation autonomy competence belonging behavior
behavioral
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People infer their own attitudes and preferences by observing their behavior, especially when their internal state is ambiguous or weakly formed.
identity inference attitude behavior self-observation
behavioral
---
Temptation bundling pairs an immediately rewarding activity with a beneficial but effortful behavior so the reward helps pull the desired behavior into action.
motivation habit reward self-control commitment
Social (7)
Influence, conformity, authority, and group-driven behavior.
social
---
People tend to comply with or believe the directives and opinions of perceived authority figures — even when those directives conflict with personal judgment or ethics.
authority compliance trust deference influence
social
---
Conformity is the tendency to align beliefs or behavior with group norms, either to fit in socially or because the group is treated as a source of information.
conformity pressure groups norms influence
social
---
Diffusion of responsibility is the tendency for individual action to decrease when multiple people are present, because each person assumes someone else will act.
responsibility bystander groups inaction social
social
---
Groupthink is a failure mode where the desire for harmony and consensus suppresses dissent, critical evaluation, and realistic appraisal inside a decision-making group.
groups consensus conformity decisions pressure
social
---
In-group bias is the tendency to favor people perceived as part of one's own group in trust, evaluation, empathy, and resource allocation.
identity bias groups favoritism belonging
social
---
Reciprocity is the social rule that receiving value, help, or concession creates pressure to return something in kind, making exchange and influence more likely.
reciprocity obligation exchange influence cooperation
social
---
People look to the behavior of others to determine the correct course of action — especially in ambiguous situations. The more people doing something, the more correct it appears.
influence conformity behavior uncertainty persuasion
Emotional (6)
Emotion regulation, affective learning, and self-evaluative states.
emotional
---
Attribution theory explains how people interpret the causes of events, and how those explanations shape emotion, motivation, and future behavior.
attribution emotion explanation success failure
emotional
---
Dopamine reward prediction describes how the brain updates motivation and learning based on the gap between expected reward and actual reward.
dopamine reward prediction learning motivation
emotional
---
Emotional contagion is the spread of affect from one person or group to another through automatic mimicry, synchronization, and shared interpretation.
emotion contagion empathy groups affect
emotional
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Hedonic adaptation is the tendency for emotional reactions to gains and losses to fade over time as people return toward a relatively stable baseline of well-being.
adaptation happiness emotion baseline change
emotional
---
A persistent internal experience of feeling like a fraud — believing one's success is due to luck or deception rather than genuine ability, despite objective evidence of competence.
self-doubt competence achievement anxiety identity
emotional
---
Negativity bias is the tendency for negative events, cues, and emotions to command more attention, carry more weight, and persist longer than positive ones.
emotion bias threat attention memory
Decision (7)
Choice under uncertainty, framing, loss, and forecasting.
decision
---
The affect heuristic is the tendency to let immediate positive or negative feelings stand in for slower analysis when judging risks, benefits, and choices.
emotion risk judgment intuition valuation
decision
---
The bandwagon effect is the tendency to adopt beliefs, products, or behaviors because many other people appear to be adopting them.
popularity conformity adoption trend social-influence
decision
---
The framing effect is the tendency for logically equivalent choices to produce different decisions depending on whether they are presented as gains, losses, or other contextual narratives.
framing choice risk language decision-making
decision
---
Losses feel approximately twice as painful as equivalent gains feel good — causing people to make irrational decisions to avoid loss, even when the expected value favors accepting it.
risk loss gain prospect-theory decision-making
decision
---
Recency bias is the tendency to overweight the most recent information or experiences when judging patterns, making forecasts, or choosing what to do next.
memory timing judgment trend forecasting
decision
---
Status quo bias is the tendency to prefer the current state of affairs, defaults, or existing arrangements even when alternatives may be objectively better.
inertia default change preference risk
decision
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The sunk cost fallacy is the tendency to continue a failing course of action because past time, money, or effort has already been invested and abandoning it would make the loss feel real.
escalation commitment loss investment persistence
Developmental (7)
How the mind changes over time through stages, learning, and identity development.
developmental
---
Attachment theory explains how early caregiver relationships shape internal expectations about safety, closeness, and regulation, influencing later relationships across development.
attachment relationships development security caregiving
developmental
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Erikson's psychosocial development model describes human development as a series of life stages, each centered on a core psychological conflict whose resolution shapes later identity and relationships.
identity lifespan stages development socialization
developmental
---
A growth mindset is the belief that ability can be developed through effort, strategy, and feedback, which changes how people respond to challenge, failure, and learning.
mindset learning ability effort development
developmental
---
Piaget's cognitive development model describes how children's thinking changes through qualitatively different stages as they mature and interact with the world.
development learning stages cognition childhood
developmental
---
Social learning theory explains how people develop behavior and expectations by observing others, modeling what is seen, and updating based on consequences without needing direct trial-and-error for every lesson.
learning imitation modeling development observation
developmental
---
Theory of mind is the developmental capacity to understand that other people have beliefs, knowledge, intentions, and perspectives that can differ from one's own.
development perspective beliefs social-cognition learning
developmental
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The zone of proximal development describes the gap between what a learner can do alone and what they can do with guidance, making it a model for how support accelerates development.
learning scaffolding teaching development capability