• @givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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    11 year ago

    Not if you’ve experienced the potential negative

    Nope, still is.

    It’s basically psychology. Might not be taught in highschool, but it’s incredibly basic.

    Not just humans either, it’s how all mammals are, that’s how basic it is.

      • @givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Yeah, theres some good studies on it you can look up if you want. But I was dumb enough to major in psych in college and they can still be a bit wordy for me.

        Think about a slot machine. People will dump thousands of dollars into one a night for the brief dopamine of a single $200 win.

        Meanwhile everyone going 10 mph over the speed limit keep doing it despite knowing at any minute they may get a speeding ticket.

        Even if the negative is consistent after a certain threshold, all that does is get the bare minimum to avoid it.

        What is surprising is a random positive reward is better at motivating than a consistent one. To take it back to slot machines, if everytime you put in a dollar you got a dime, no one would ever play. Even if the result is the same at the end of the day, the randomness makes our brain want to keep trying.

        • Agreed. Our brain keeps thinking “the next one could be it”.

          I think I see what you’re saying about speeding. Negative reinforcement can influence behavior, but it’ll go as far as to avoid the negative, no further. You won’t get a compulsion like you do with random rewards. I see your point.