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A longtime psychiatrist dedicated to fighting addictions explains how we fall into the loop of approval in social writing.
The psychiatrist walks between the rows of restlessly fidgeting smokers. They do not yet know how exactly they will get rid of nicotine addiction.
The doctor begins to tell the participants that he is going to help them quit smoking through concentration.
- Dr. Brewer, have you ever smoked yourself?
- No, I have never smoked, but I have many other addictions.
Many listeners begin to resolutely rise from their seats - they have already tried hundreds of different methods, and here another wise guy who did not hold a cigarette in his hands is going to waste their time.
- Stay! I will make sure you believe me by the end of the lesson.
Deftly blocking the path to the exit, the psychiatrist walks up to the blackboard and begins the story of addiction. After five minutes of explanation, the tension gives way to a sigh of relief, the audience nods in agreement - the doctor really knew what they had to contend with.
Here he is, our hero. This is Jadson Brewer, director of the Therapeutic Neurobiology Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, a psychiatrist with long-term clinical practice in the field of addiction.
Brewer argues that the same basic learning processes occur in the brain when a habit is formed. It makes no difference to the brain what exactly we learn - dressing in the morning, tying our shoelaces, or smoking. A three-year-old child puts his foot into his trouser leg, his mother praises him and kisses him on the cheek, the baby is happy, and then he will try to repeat this action. We see a delicious cheesecake on the counter, the brain tells us that this is food, and our survival depends on it, we buy the cheesecake and eat it. If it turns out to be tasty, we will reproduce this behavior. If we are sad, our brain will helpfully give us a ready idea to improve our well-being - eat cheesecake. For the brain, this is all, of course, good, it just does its job, but now we have to seize any stress with cheesecakes.
For the brain, this is all, of course, good, it just does its job, but now we have to seize any stress with cheesecakes.
In this sense, we are not far from sea slugs, whose behavior is built on a binary scheme: move towards food or move away from poisonous substances. We also move towards pleasure and avoid discomfort.
Skinner's behaviorism, which was the first to experimentally confirm the principles of positive and negative reinforcement, can be treated with a fair amount of criticism, but it is impossible to argue that much of our behavior is controlled by these basic principles of learning, whether we like it or not. Chocolate is good and tasty. A glass of wine at dinner is nice. A woman's place is at home. Such attitudes are formed practically without our conscious participation and are extremely strong. Falling into the loop of addiction, it is difficult for a person to realize his real state and cope with the causes of problems. To get out of such a loop, according to Burger, is possible only through the practice of awareness.
In his book "The Dependent Brain", published in Russian by the publishing house "Mann, Ivanov and Ferber", Jadson Brewer puts on the shelves the addictions with which a modern person lives - from food, alcohol, smoking, the Internet, ourselves ... Here are adapted excerpts from chapter "Technology Addiction".
Are you in the Louvre? Make a photo!
Woman (thinks to herself): Oh my God! I'm at the Louvre!
Woman's Mind (whispers): Come on, don't stand rooted to the spot! Make a photo. No, wait. Take a photo with your best friend. Stop. I came up with it! Take a photo and post it on Facebook!
Woman: Great idea!
She takes a photo, then puts her phone away and walks into the museum to view the exhibits. Less than ten minutes later, she feels a keen desire to check her page. Until her friends can see, she secretly logs into the social network to find out if anyone has liked her photo. She may be feeling a little guilty, so she immediately puts her phone away before her friends notice. After a few minutes, she has a strong desire to look at the phone. And then again and again. She spends the rest of the day wandering the Louvre, but only looks at her Facebook feed, tracking how many likes and comments her photo got. This scenario may sound crazy, but stories like this happen on a daily basis. And now we may understand why.
Trigger - Behavior - Reward. Taken together, these elements shape the behavior of all representatives of the animal kingdom, from creatures with the most primitive nervous system to people suffering from addictions ...
Tying your shoelaces is a good habit. Writing messages while driving is bad. It is important to note that well-defined rewards have a decisive influence on what behaviors we develop, how quickly we learn them, and how firmly they become entrenched.
Our visitor to the Louvre does not realize that she has fallen into the oldest trap of evolution. Every time she has a strong urge to post another photo on her Facebook page (trigger), upload it (behavior), and receive a whole bunch of likes (reward), she reliably anchors this process. Knowingly or unknowingly, she aggravates her behavior. Instead of absorbing the rich history of the Louvre, she wanders back and forth, wondering where to take another cool photo.
How common is this obsession, and how does it contribute to a deeper ingraining culture that welcomes people to be self-centered?
Like when you feel lonely
In an episode of the This American Life podcast, Status Update, three ninth graders talk about how they use Instagram.
The episode begins with teenagers loitering around waiting for the interview to begin. What are they doing? They take pictures of themselves and post photos on Instagram. What follows is a story that they spend most of the day uploading photos to the network, commenting on them and liking photos of their friends.
Although the teens described their actions as mechanical and thoughtless, they were satisfied with something. Rats push the levers to get food. These three are pushing buttons to get likes. Perhaps the pleasure is not so much connected with the photographing as it is due to the object of this action - the person himself. Does this object give us enough satisfaction to come back for more?
Diana Tamir and Jason Mitchell of Harvard University did a simple study: they put people on an MRI machine and offered to either talk about their own views and assessments, or evaluate the opinion of another person, or answer trivial questions. The participants in the experiment completed this task almost two hundred times. All this time, their brain activity was measured. The trick was that the choice was associated with a monetary reward. The amount of money varied, as did the categories of questions for which the most money was offered. At the end of the study, the scientists were able to determine whether people are willing to pass up monetary gains in order to talk about themselves.
They were ready. On average, participants missed out on about 17% of potential profits in order to think and talk about themselves.
While completing the tasks, the participants activated the pleasure center in the brain. It is located in one of the areas of the brain that is closely associated with the formation of addictions. There seems to be a connection between self and reward. Self-talk brings a person satisfaction, and the pursuit of this satisfaction is very similar to drug addiction.
In social networks, we are looking for the answer to the existential question: "Am I important?" Considering this question from an evolutionary point of view, it is related to survival: does self-importance mean an increase in the chances of preserving life? In this case, we are talking about social survival: to survive means to improve one's position in the established unofficial hierarchy, not to be left “outside” of society, or, at least, to understand one's position in comparison with others.
Social survival on Facebook or Instagram works by the same rules that have been worked out by evolution for finding food. We need to eat to live. As soon as we find food, we feel a surge of excitement, and then we reproduce this behavior to re-experience these sensations. Social “food” may activate the same mechanisms in the brain.
Why do we push the lever over and over?
We can resort to eating social food not only when we want to experience positive reinforcement, but also when we need to get rid of negative emotions.
When we feel sad, bored or lonely, we make a new post on the social network, a kind of call for friends who respond, like our post or leave a short comment. This feedback calms us down, showing that we are not cut off from the outside world, that we are being given attention. The more often we do this, the more the behavior becomes entrenched until it becomes automatic. We turn to this source over and over again - and this is how addiction is formed.
People obsessively go to social media to get better, but after that they feel even worse. Social media does not address the underlying problem that makes us feel sad. They are simply associated with improved well-being, but they do not relieve us of the problem.
There is a correlation between the activation of the pleasure center in the brain and the frequency of visiting Facebook - the more the pleasure center is activated, the more likely that person spends a lot of time on Facebook (more than three hours a day). The study of this issue was carried out by Dar Mehi and his colleagues from the Free University of Berlin. In addition, Lee's research team found a correlation between online social interaction and a lack of ability to regulate one's mood, as well as a weakening of the sense of self-worth and distance from society.
Just as we step on the gas pedal all the way when the car is stuck in the snow (and this only makes it bog down even more), we are stuck in a loop of habit, repeating the same behavior that has brought us a reward in the past, and do not understand that only exacerbate the problem.
When we better understand what a habit is, how it is formed and why this process can reach automaticity and repeat itself indefinitely, we are able to take a different look at our life and see the vicious circle into which habits lead us. What leverage do we use to get rewarded?
Each of us wants to be happy. But the short-term joyful excitement and pleasant excitement caused by the release of dopamine after buying a new dress or hundreds of fresh likes on the social network does not bring us closer to a happy existence. The expectation of reward is not happiness. We simply push the lever to increase the level of dopamine in the body, and then we feel a little better.
Perhaps our stress “compass” is misconfigured or we don’t know how to navigate by it. We may mistakenly seek rewards instead of avoiding them. Perhaps we are looking for love in the wrong places.
Technology has changed the economy of the 21st century, and while much of innovation has benefited us, the uncertainty and unpredictability of tomorrow is forcing us to develop addictive habits or other behaviors that harm us.
Now is the time to pay attention to how our minds and bodies respond to discomfort and reward. You need to stop and stop pulling the lever in order to look at yourself from the outside and reflect on the real reward. This is the only way we can see what exactly is the source of our stress and adjust our internal compass without external reinforcement.
The psychiatrist walks between the rows of restlessly fidgeting smokers. They do not yet know how exactly they will get rid of nicotine addiction.
The doctor begins to tell the participants that he is going to help them quit smoking through concentration.
- Dr. Brewer, have you ever smoked yourself?
- No, I have never smoked, but I have many other addictions.
Many listeners begin to resolutely rise from their seats - they have already tried hundreds of different methods, and here another wise guy who did not hold a cigarette in his hands is going to waste their time.
- Stay! I will make sure you believe me by the end of the lesson.
Deftly blocking the path to the exit, the psychiatrist walks up to the blackboard and begins the story of addiction. After five minutes of explanation, the tension gives way to a sigh of relief, the audience nods in agreement - the doctor really knew what they had to contend with.
Here he is, our hero. This is Jadson Brewer, director of the Therapeutic Neurobiology Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, a psychiatrist with long-term clinical practice in the field of addiction.
Brewer argues that the same basic learning processes occur in the brain when a habit is formed. It makes no difference to the brain what exactly we learn - dressing in the morning, tying our shoelaces, or smoking. A three-year-old child puts his foot into his trouser leg, his mother praises him and kisses him on the cheek, the baby is happy, and then he will try to repeat this action. We see a delicious cheesecake on the counter, the brain tells us that this is food, and our survival depends on it, we buy the cheesecake and eat it. If it turns out to be tasty, we will reproduce this behavior. If we are sad, our brain will helpfully give us a ready idea to improve our well-being - eat cheesecake. For the brain, this is all, of course, good, it just does its job, but now we have to seize any stress with cheesecakes.
For the brain, this is all, of course, good, it just does its job, but now we have to seize any stress with cheesecakes.
In this sense, we are not far from sea slugs, whose behavior is built on a binary scheme: move towards food or move away from poisonous substances. We also move towards pleasure and avoid discomfort.
Skinner's behaviorism, which was the first to experimentally confirm the principles of positive and negative reinforcement, can be treated with a fair amount of criticism, but it is impossible to argue that much of our behavior is controlled by these basic principles of learning, whether we like it or not. Chocolate is good and tasty. A glass of wine at dinner is nice. A woman's place is at home. Such attitudes are formed practically without our conscious participation and are extremely strong. Falling into the loop of addiction, it is difficult for a person to realize his real state and cope with the causes of problems. To get out of such a loop, according to Burger, is possible only through the practice of awareness.
In his book "The Dependent Brain", published in Russian by the publishing house "Mann, Ivanov and Ferber", Jadson Brewer puts on the shelves the addictions with which a modern person lives - from food, alcohol, smoking, the Internet, ourselves ... Here are adapted excerpts from chapter "Technology Addiction".
Are you in the Louvre? Make a photo!
Woman (thinks to herself): Oh my God! I'm at the Louvre!
Woman's Mind (whispers): Come on, don't stand rooted to the spot! Make a photo. No, wait. Take a photo with your best friend. Stop. I came up with it! Take a photo and post it on Facebook!
Woman: Great idea!
She takes a photo, then puts her phone away and walks into the museum to view the exhibits. Less than ten minutes later, she feels a keen desire to check her page. Until her friends can see, she secretly logs into the social network to find out if anyone has liked her photo. She may be feeling a little guilty, so she immediately puts her phone away before her friends notice. After a few minutes, she has a strong desire to look at the phone. And then again and again. She spends the rest of the day wandering the Louvre, but only looks at her Facebook feed, tracking how many likes and comments her photo got. This scenario may sound crazy, but stories like this happen on a daily basis. And now we may understand why.
Trigger - Behavior - Reward. Taken together, these elements shape the behavior of all representatives of the animal kingdom, from creatures with the most primitive nervous system to people suffering from addictions ...
Tying your shoelaces is a good habit. Writing messages while driving is bad. It is important to note that well-defined rewards have a decisive influence on what behaviors we develop, how quickly we learn them, and how firmly they become entrenched.
Our visitor to the Louvre does not realize that she has fallen into the oldest trap of evolution. Every time she has a strong urge to post another photo on her Facebook page (trigger), upload it (behavior), and receive a whole bunch of likes (reward), she reliably anchors this process. Knowingly or unknowingly, she aggravates her behavior. Instead of absorbing the rich history of the Louvre, she wanders back and forth, wondering where to take another cool photo.
How common is this obsession, and how does it contribute to a deeper ingraining culture that welcomes people to be self-centered?
Like when you feel lonely
In an episode of the This American Life podcast, Status Update, three ninth graders talk about how they use Instagram.
The episode begins with teenagers loitering around waiting for the interview to begin. What are they doing? They take pictures of themselves and post photos on Instagram. What follows is a story that they spend most of the day uploading photos to the network, commenting on them and liking photos of their friends.
Although the teens described their actions as mechanical and thoughtless, they were satisfied with something. Rats push the levers to get food. These three are pushing buttons to get likes. Perhaps the pleasure is not so much connected with the photographing as it is due to the object of this action - the person himself. Does this object give us enough satisfaction to come back for more?
Diana Tamir and Jason Mitchell of Harvard University did a simple study: they put people on an MRI machine and offered to either talk about their own views and assessments, or evaluate the opinion of another person, or answer trivial questions. The participants in the experiment completed this task almost two hundred times. All this time, their brain activity was measured. The trick was that the choice was associated with a monetary reward. The amount of money varied, as did the categories of questions for which the most money was offered. At the end of the study, the scientists were able to determine whether people are willing to pass up monetary gains in order to talk about themselves.
They were ready. On average, participants missed out on about 17% of potential profits in order to think and talk about themselves.
While completing the tasks, the participants activated the pleasure center in the brain. It is located in one of the areas of the brain that is closely associated with the formation of addictions. There seems to be a connection between self and reward. Self-talk brings a person satisfaction, and the pursuit of this satisfaction is very similar to drug addiction.
In social networks, we are looking for the answer to the existential question: "Am I important?" Considering this question from an evolutionary point of view, it is related to survival: does self-importance mean an increase in the chances of preserving life? In this case, we are talking about social survival: to survive means to improve one's position in the established unofficial hierarchy, not to be left “outside” of society, or, at least, to understand one's position in comparison with others.
Social survival on Facebook or Instagram works by the same rules that have been worked out by evolution for finding food. We need to eat to live. As soon as we find food, we feel a surge of excitement, and then we reproduce this behavior to re-experience these sensations. Social “food” may activate the same mechanisms in the brain.
Why do we push the lever over and over?
We can resort to eating social food not only when we want to experience positive reinforcement, but also when we need to get rid of negative emotions.
When we feel sad, bored or lonely, we make a new post on the social network, a kind of call for friends who respond, like our post or leave a short comment. This feedback calms us down, showing that we are not cut off from the outside world, that we are being given attention. The more often we do this, the more the behavior becomes entrenched until it becomes automatic. We turn to this source over and over again - and this is how addiction is formed.
People obsessively go to social media to get better, but after that they feel even worse. Social media does not address the underlying problem that makes us feel sad. They are simply associated with improved well-being, but they do not relieve us of the problem.
There is a correlation between the activation of the pleasure center in the brain and the frequency of visiting Facebook - the more the pleasure center is activated, the more likely that person spends a lot of time on Facebook (more than three hours a day). The study of this issue was carried out by Dar Mehi and his colleagues from the Free University of Berlin. In addition, Lee's research team found a correlation between online social interaction and a lack of ability to regulate one's mood, as well as a weakening of the sense of self-worth and distance from society.
Just as we step on the gas pedal all the way when the car is stuck in the snow (and this only makes it bog down even more), we are stuck in a loop of habit, repeating the same behavior that has brought us a reward in the past, and do not understand that only exacerbate the problem.
When we better understand what a habit is, how it is formed and why this process can reach automaticity and repeat itself indefinitely, we are able to take a different look at our life and see the vicious circle into which habits lead us. What leverage do we use to get rewarded?
Each of us wants to be happy. But the short-term joyful excitement and pleasant excitement caused by the release of dopamine after buying a new dress or hundreds of fresh likes on the social network does not bring us closer to a happy existence. The expectation of reward is not happiness. We simply push the lever to increase the level of dopamine in the body, and then we feel a little better.
Perhaps our stress “compass” is misconfigured or we don’t know how to navigate by it. We may mistakenly seek rewards instead of avoiding them. Perhaps we are looking for love in the wrong places.
Technology has changed the economy of the 21st century, and while much of innovation has benefited us, the uncertainty and unpredictability of tomorrow is forcing us to develop addictive habits or other behaviors that harm us.
Now is the time to pay attention to how our minds and bodies respond to discomfort and reward. You need to stop and stop pulling the lever in order to look at yourself from the outside and reflect on the real reward. This is the only way we can see what exactly is the source of our stress and adjust our internal compass without external reinforcement.
