The Neverending Story (edit: avec les pics)

So, I came across an interesting passage in that book I’ve been reading (for like a month and a half now), How the Mind Works. There were these two psychologists who did extensive studies with risk/reward scenarios and they noticed that people had a strong preference towards receiving smaller rewards immediately as opposed to large rewards later. Now, that by itself is no great revelation (as anyone who has an addiction to desserts or over-spending can attest to) and makes perfect sense from an evolutionary perspective – you are tuned to want rewards right away because there is no guarantee that you will ever see that future reward. Of course we all have a lot more… not stability, but reliability, in our daily lives now than we did before so we can afford to take that risk and bet on two dollars tomorrow instead of one dollar now.

The whole “stability vs. reliability” is something I’ve been thinking about myself lately but frankly I’m freakin’ exhausted so perhaps I’ll go over that in a later entry.

Anyway, so down to the interesting part of the study. It showed that, when given the option between two rewards, a smaller one right away (A) or a larger one later (B), it was observed that those who opted for B had a habit of switching to A as B approached. This same phenomenon was observed in rats who, when presented with two buttons A and B (with A giving a small immediate reward and B giving a large but delayed one), they would eventually forgo B entirely in favor of A. In humans this manifests itself as things such as “I will skip dessert so I can lose these last few pounds I’ve been trying to get rid of!” then later, when confronted with dessert, eating it anyway. Another example would be, say, having a large project, presentation, or meeting the next day which you’re unprepared for and watching TV (OR BROWSING FACEBOOK!) instead of attending to it.

A lot of people are under the impression that humans have no or very few instincts compared to other animals but it seems that not only do we have many instincts but that they are far more complex than mere fight-or-flight. One of the great advantages of Homo Sapiens, however, is our cognitive reasoning allows us to override instincts such as “A > B” to maximize our future returns – one of the many reasons we’re the dominant life-form on earth.

Anyway, the study was something I thought people might find interesting and it’s definitely something I think of when I find myself thinking that sleeping in is preferable to making breakfast and going to the gym.

btw here’s a funny picture i took enjoy it or ELSE

Click for huge version. Not sure why you would want to but whatever.