Javon Behavioural Institute (JBI) on Motivation
Motivation
and Seduction: “You don’t desire it enough”
We know that the human
brain’s reward systems highly values experiences/behaviors that lead to
pleasurable consequences. Our instinct is to move towards those behaviors that
produce the greatest reward and withhold from acts resulting in punishment or
no reinforcement (extinction).
Every single one of the
behavior patterns you currently have in your behavioral repertoire (both the
positive and negative behaviors) is associated with higher dopamine levels
(pleasurable consequences: Reinforcement).
Scientists
can now measure with great precision the exact moment that a desire/need occurs
by measuring dopamine levels in the brain. The higher the spike of dopamine,
the greater the desire/need. The greater the desire for something, the more
likely it is that behavior will follow.
But why is it that
sometimes even though there is a pleasurable reward waiting for us, we still do
not have the motivation or willingness to engage in the behavior to produce the
reward?
The short answer is
that “You don’t Need it enough”. It isn’t enough to like something; you must also desire it!
There
is a significant distinction between liking something and desiring it. The
human brain has far more neurocircuitry allocated for desiring pleasure than it
does for liking them. The desiring centers in the brain are vast, but the
liking centers of the brain are significantly smaller. When we engage in a
behavior willingly, 90% of the desiring centers of the brain light up, but only
10% are activated in the liking centers. The fact that the brain allocates so
much space to the regions responsible for desiring/needing/craving, provides
further evidence of the crucial role that these processes play. Desire is the engine that drives
behavior. Every action is taken because of the anticipation and desire that
precedes it.
Example:
Even
though Emmanuel likes green tea, he doesn’t go out of his way to get it. He
does not desire/need green tea. Because of this lack of desire, he does not
engage in green tea-seeking behavior.
Carmen
likes Eric but does not make much effort to see him. She does not desire Eric
enough to put in the required amount of effort. Her lack of desire leads to her
lack of effort.
Bob has not had a job
in years. Even though he would like to become independent and move out of his
parent’s basement, he does not desire/need this independence. Because of this
lack of desire, he does not engage in behaviors that could produce the said
outcome (independence).
Why do our
Needs/desires fluctuate so much?
We
have discussed the significant role that present Needs/desires play in the
Behavior we choose to engage/not engage in. We know that our internal needs and
desires are the driving force behind Behaviors we engage in; however, the
question remains, what dictates these internal needs, and why are they
constantly changing? For example, why isn’t a loved one’s phone call always
desirable?
Or
why is it that we only sometimes feel an intense desire to do something and, as
a result, feel a burst of energy (dopamine) as we move towards an anticipated
outcome? But why does that not last? For many, their Behaviors depend on such
“random” bursts of energy and motivation that seem to appear spontaneously and
by chance.
From
a Behavioral Analytic perspective, individuals’ state of Needs & desires
depends solely on their past experiences with the reinforcer (reward). If the
outcome/reinforcer has been too available, the internal Need for that
reinforcer will be reduced. Consequently, if a need for a particular reinforcer
has been reduced, the Behaviors that can produce that reinforcer will also be
diminished.
Let’
break this down:
Yesterday
Need:
Talk to a certain friend you have not talked with in a while (EO)
Antecedent: Friend
calls
Behavior: Pick up the
phone instantly with excitement
Consequence: have a
pleasant 2 hour conversation (AO: desire satisfied)
Today
Need: desire alone time
Antecedent: the same
friend calls
Behavior: Avoid picking
up the phone
Consequence: Enjoy time
alone reading a book
As you can see in the
example above, the avoidance of the phone call was tied directly to the
consequence you received in the past, which reduced the value of that
reinforcer (friend’s phone call). The availability of the reinforcer you
received changed your need to be in touch with that friend the next day. This
resulted in you not engaging in Behaviors that would produce the same outcome
(AO). Even though this sudden shift in your current Needs changed the course of
your Behavior, it is most likely a temporary change, meaning if another few
days or weeks go by without you speaking to this person, the value of their
calls will be increased once more (EO). Realize that the longer the time since
speaking with this friend, the greater the value of their voice.
To
describe this in an accurate Behavioral term, we would not measure your desire
as it is a poor self-report measure. Instead, we could measure the amount of
time that has passed since the last conversation in a very quantifiable and
reliable manner.
When you desire or want
to speak with a particular friend, this desire exists in the absence of that
event; that is, you are not currently in touch with them. Also, there has been
a certain amount of time where you have not spoken with the person. In other
words, a state of deprivation exists. Suppose this deprivation is sufficient to
motivate you to engage in Behavior that has historically produced a
conversation with them. In that case, we could conclude that the value of the
call has been“established.”
Example:
Dayton has been trying
out a new 1 meal a day diet as recommended by his doctor. This means for an
entire day he will not consume anything except for water. At 8:00 pm, he can
indulge in up to 2000 calories. At 7:45pm, Dayton’s desire for food is at its
peak because he has been deprived for several hours (Establishing Operations
EO). However, by 9:00, when he has eaten a 3 course meal, he is fully
satisfied, and the value of food as a reinforcer drops significantly
(Abolishing Operations AO). In other words, because he no longer desires to
eat, Behaviors that produce such an outcome (I.e., going to the fridge to get
food) will be reduced.
What
causes this shift in how much we desire something at any given moment has to do
with how much or how long we have been deprived of something. We call this Establishing Operation (EO): when the
value of a particular reinforcer increases because we have been deprived of it
for a period of time.
On the other hand, the
operation behind what causes us to avoid certain Behaviors can be explained by Abolishing Operations (AO): A
motivating operation that decreases
the value of a particular reinforcer often as a result of satiation. In the
case of Dayton, because he had consumed plenty of food (AO), the value of food
as a reinforcer decreased.
Example:
During the Covid-19
pandemic lockdown, you may have experienced intense longing for loved ones whom
you could not visit in person. Being deprived of social contact (Establishing
Operation (EO)) increased the value of seeing your loved ones (reinforcer). For
many of you, this increased the likelihood of you engaging in Behaviors that
would get you a little closer to them: such as seeing them on zoom, or secretly
inviting them over.
Prior to the pandemic,
perhaps you did not engage in such Behaviors as frequently because you were not
in a state of deprivation, and thus the value of loved ones as a reinforcer was
not as high as the lockdown condition.
Thus,
when we do (not) engage in certain behaviors, AO is often a key contributing
factor: this means that we are satiated (satisfied), dopamine levels have
dropped, desire/need has decreased, and therefore the probability of engagement
in the target behavior will also significantly decrease.
But
when we (do) engage in certain behaviors, EO is at play. This means that we are
seduced by an environmental condition that has deprived us of a particular
reward. This deprived state creates anticipation (and a spike in dopamine
levels) which leads to greater desire/need. As a result, the probability of
engagement in the target behavior will increase.
Javon
Behavioural Institute (JBI)
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