According to
new research, human brains really are hungry for information, and this hunger
can devolve into unhealthful snacking-like behaviors now that we have
unfettered access to random information.
Humans are naturally curious beings. We constantly seek to
learn, explore, and understand. However, curiosity may not always be a positive
feature.
The popular saying, "Curiosity killed the cat" refers
to seeking knowledge to the point of putting oneself in danger.
Although not exactly in the sense that this saying connotes,
humans' modern-day compulsion to seek information can have negative effects.
As we scroll greedily through social media or peruse random,
bite-sized articles about nothing in particular, we may be feeding the
equivalent of empty calories to our brains.
Or, to put it a different way, our brains may be addicted to unvaluable information on which we snack insatiably.
Or, to put it a different way, our brains may be addicted to unvaluable information on which we snack insatiably.
Why is this the case? In a new study, two researchers — from the
Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute and the Haas School of Business, at the
University of California, Berkeley — have found that the search for information
accesses the same neural code as the search for money. Their findings appear in
the journal PNAS.
"To the brain, information is its own reward, above and
beyond whether it's useful," says co-author and associate professor Ming
Hsu, Ph.D.
"And just as our
brains like empty calories from junk food,
they can overvalue information that makes us feel good but may not be useful —
what some may call idle curiosity."
Ming Hsu, Ph.D.
Seeking information for information's sake
According to Hsu: "Our study tried to answer two questions.
First, can we reconcile the economic and psychological views of curiosity, or,
why do people seek information? Second, what does curiosity look like inside
the brain?"
For this purpose, the researchers started by administering
functional MRI (fMRI) scans as volunteers
played a gambling game. In this game, participants had to assess a series of
lotteries and then make a choice, deciding how much money they wanted to invest
in order to uncover more information about winning odds.
Some lotteries featured more valuable information, while others
held very little information. The participants mostly made logical choices,
considering the economic value of the information in each lottery — with value
referring to how much money the given information could help them win in the
game.
However, there was a catch. When there were higher stakes, people's curiosity about information increased, even when that information was unhelpful in making gameplay decisions.
Based on this observation, the researchers thought that the players' behavior was likely explained by a conflation of economic motivation and psychological (curiosity-driven) impulses.
However, there was a catch. When there were higher stakes, people's curiosity about information increased, even when that information was unhelpful in making gameplay decisions.
Based on this observation, the researchers thought that the players' behavior was likely explained by a conflation of economic motivation and psychological (curiosity-driven) impulses.
Thus, they suspected that people seek
information not just because it has value and can bring them benefits but also
because we simply want to know, regardless of whether we intend to use the
information or whether it is useful at all. At the core of this is the thrill
of anticipation, the two authors note.
"Anticipation serves to amplify how good or bad something
seems, and the anticipation of a more pleasurable reward makes the information
appear even more valuable," Hsu explains.
Information overload is 'just like junk food'
When the researchers went on to analyze the fMRI scans, they saw
that accessing information during the gambling game activated the striatum and
the ventromedial prefrontal cortex — two regions involved in the brain's reward
circuit.
These areas also respond to money, food, and
recreational drugs, and they produce dopamine, a hormone and chemical messenger
that plays a key role in directing motivation.
The researchers also found that the brain appeared to use the
same kind of neural "code" when responding to amounts of money and
information about winning odds in the game.
"We were able to demonstrate for the first time the
existence of a common neural code for information and money, which opens the
door to a number of exciting questions about how people consume, and sometimes
overconsume, information," says Hsu.
The fact that there is a common code for monetary value and
information and that it activates brain regions involved in the reward cycle
could mean that people might actually get addicted to information.
This could have implications as to why we overconsume
information, such as when we are unable to stop checking notifications on our
phones.
"The way our brains respond to the anticipation of a
pleasurable reward is an important reason why people are susceptible to
clickbait," notes Hsu.
While, throughout the past, the human race hungrily sought
information to maximize the odds of survival, easy access to useless
information may now lead to an overload.
"Just like junk food, this might be a
situation where previously adaptive mechanisms get exploited now that we have
unprecedented access to novel curiosities," Hsu warns.
Source: Medical News Today
No comments:
Post a Comment