The thing I learned about in this part of reading, also what kind of made me upset is how people can manipulate and ultimately use your dopamine levels to persuade you to want to do things like gamble. Casinos purposely put pictures of diamonds and cherries and things like that, along with other things like loud noises and whirling wheels, to stimulate your neurons and hook you into wanting to continuously bet and gamble. The fact that they know we get three to four times more excited when receiving an unexpected rewards makes it that much easier to get us to spend money on those things.
Also i found that having a "hot streak" doesn't necessarily mean you cannot miss a shot or are unbeatable. Every "shot" is it's own independent event and is not a result of any previous event taken but people believe something that is actually a figment of their imagination. Our dopamine levels are actually the thing that makes us think they cannot miss a shot, since they help with prediction. My question is can you control your dopamine levels knowing it is being manipulated into releasing on cue?? The answer I found is that you cannot control your dopamine levels since they trigger when an unexpected event happens and can not be controlled with something random.
Carlos,
ReplyDeleteI liked that you said it kind of made you upset that people (corporations) use our dopamine weaknesses to manipulate us because that is how I felt when I read that. I thought of every time I have been in a casino, or at the supermarket thinking about buying something "on sale", or even walking into Costco past all the big-ticket items and I felt kind of sick that it was all about getting me to spend more money. I already knew gambling was a bad idea because the casino always comes out ahead but I had no idea they were actually using our brain chemistry against us. They are the reason there are gambling addicts! And knowing that, I think it is the responsibility of government to put a stop to it. I know we can't change how supermarkets are laid out or how they advertise sales but when we know casinos are creating addicts, ruining their lives, the lives of their families and ultimately harming society, shouldn't there be SOMETHING we can do about it?
I like ur coralition with dopamine and casinos. Most people seem as if its for fun and pleasure, not an addiction. But yes the honest truth is we do have casino addiction or addicts. It is sad but true, how they purposely play against one`s dopamine trigger response. From the pretty bright lights, sexy cocktail servers, free food and ect.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever noticed they also mess with our time sensor? Next time ur in Vegas try and find a clock on a wall or anywhere else inside a casino gambling area.
I also like the correlation you used with dopamine and casino's. I have witness first hand how people can be manipulated by their dopamine triggers. I always thought that dopamine were directly related to the pleasure sensors of the brain.
ReplyDeleteBut the lows and highs of the affect of the dopamine, clearly show that they also can cause extreme displeasure.