Pitfalls - Part 11: The Pavlov Trap

Iwan Petrovich Pavlov won a Nobel Prize for noticing and proving that dogs start salivating when they hear their owner's footsteps. Quite obviously, he concluded, the sound and the subsequent feeding were linked in the animals' minds. He then proved that almost any kind of conditioning was possible, for example, by ringing a bell when presenting the food bowl. After a few days, the bell alone was enough to make the dog start drooling.

Sounds funny, but the tragedy comes immediately: We are no better than Pavlov's dogs. All too easily, we fall into hundreds of conditioning traps. False connections lead to false behavior. A few simple examples:

Almost every child has overeaten on a favorite dish at some point. The subsequent feeling of nausea is mistakenly associated with the dish rather than the quantity.

Almost everyone thinks of "holidays" not as relaxation. Instead, they think of distant, hard-to-reach beaches. Advertising has managed to link the word with desires that are often far removed from the true purpose of a vacation.

Almost everyone shudders at the sound of the dentist's drill, even if it's just the hygienist's cleaning brush. Except, of course, for those who have never had a cavity filled. For them, the sound is not yet associated with pain.

The nonsense with the best-before date

So far, so clear. But have you ever considered that false conditioning goes much further? Food waste has increased by 500% since best-before dates were printed on food packaging. Folks, yogurt was invented precisely so that the soured milk could last almost forever. If the lid doesn't swell up and there is no mold, it is perfectly fine, even half a year past the date. But the dog in us tends to throw away everything that has "expired."

But not only does programming work, reprogramming does too. Just a few years ago, the equation was "egg = cholesterol = death." How I was berated when I indulged in a fried egg swimming in fine butter. Recently, media conditioning has shifted. Suddenly, eggs have become superfoods, and there is now a distinction between good and bad cholesterol. Now I am berated if I eat only one egg at a time.

What use is this in daily life?

Fortunately, there is also positive conditioning. Those who are clever cultivate this and improve their lives. For example:

Almost everyone knows a song that releases endless endorphins for them. Of course, because these endorphins were already in the blood for another reason when they first heard it. Treat yourself to a few bars of your favorite tune before a challenging meeting and observe your unleashed strength.

What does that mean?

Try this: reward yourself after good performances! It doesn't really matter with what. A glass of water is as good as an after-work drink. A look at the webcam of your favorite lake works just as well as a short walk in the woods. The crucial thing is that you do it quickly after your success and that you enjoy the pleasant conclusion of the task. Because after just a few such rituals, something incredible happens: The Pavlovian dog in you transfers the joy of victory to the work itself. While you're still toiling away, the happy hormones are already flowing. Just be careful not to start drooling.