Do you like to celebrate Valentine’s Day?
I’ll go have a little dinner with my wife, but not much more than that. Don’t get me wrong, I love my wife, but sometimes the juice isn’t worth the squeeze because Valentine’s Day is sorta forced.
Valentine’s Day reminds me of this study done on monkeys. It might be a little off but bare with me because I’m paraphrasing something my friend told me.
Researchers took a monkey and gave him a treat every 8th time he pulled a lever. After a while the monkey stopped pulling the lever because he got bored. They did the same thing with another monkey but randomized when he got the treat (it wasn’t every 8th time). That monkey kept pulling the lever for way longer because he didn’t know when it was coming next (kind of sounds like slot machines haha).
Basically, when it’ predictable, it is not as enjoyable. I’ve never liked Valentine’s Day for that reason.
Comments
One Response to “Do you like to celebrate Valentine’s Day?”
Interesting observation. I have noticed that “forced romance” never really is romantic, and yet on a non-forced day (any other day of the year), doing something half as grand has twice the effect.