Cognitive Scaffold

Preparing your thinking workspace

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MENTAL MODEL · M1614

Dead Cat Strategy

Dead Cat Strategy
StructureHigh supportLogic
Included
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Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-30

CORE DEFINITION

Proposed by Boris Johnson. When you are losing a debate and cannot refute the other side's facts and logic, to divert attention, you suddenly throw a dead cat on the table. Everyone's attention shifts from 'you lost the debate' to 'oh my god, there's a dead cat.'

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

Identify tactics that divert attention. When someone suddenly throws out a shocking, absurd, but irrelevant topic during crisis PR, they may be throwing a dead cat to cover up the core contradiction.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Throw out a shocking or absurd but irrelevant topic to hijack attention, causing the original focus (disadvantage) to be obscured.

MINIMUM ACTION

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Source support: Explicit

  • link
    en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_cat_strategyZH · Explicit
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