As humans, we have a strong need to feel like the masters of our own fate.
And when your freedom of choice is threatened,
it creates an arousal in the body and brain, and the motivation to react,
ultimately compelling you to do things you're told not to do.
Like watching this video.
Let's try a little thought experiment.
Please don't think about a white bear right now.
Oops, you're probably thinking about one.
Studies that give participants the same instructions
and have them think out loud for five minutes find that
on average, the white bear appears in their thoughts
not only at the onset of the experiment, but once every minute.
This automatic compulsion manifests in more concrete ways as well.
Like the literary world, where the attempted banning of books
has often led to them being more successful.
Seriously. Books like The Great Gatsby,
Catcher in The Rye, and To Kill A Mockingbird
are some of the most frequently banned books in the world
yet some of the most successful.
So why can't we help ourselves?
The impulse comes from the perception that we're losing our freedom
and is a psychological behaviour called reactance.
Have you ever been told you couldn't have something
only to realise you that it made you want it more,
when in the first place you never even really wanted it?
A classic example is the limitation of alcohol consumption.
In the late 80s, when the U.S. increased the legal drinking age to 21,
a study of thousands of people found that those affected by the new law
had higher than expected alcohol consumption
compared to their legal age counterparts.
Studies have even found that there's an increased interest in entertainment programming
when it begins with a warning.
Viewer discretion is advised.
Our curiosity is a powerful force
which has lead to the successful rise of clickbait on the internet.
Titles like, "A wealthy person lost all their money!"
"You won't believe what happened next!"
gives you essential information that leaves a gap in the knowledge that you must fulfil.
Known as the information gap theory, we're primed to want to fill in the blanks.
This taps into our psychological and physiological response.
In fact, studies measuring pupil arousal
showed that if you were more emotionally aroused from a headline
you're more likely to click it.
And we put up with clickbait because, well, sometimes it works.
Sometimes we get the satisfaction and release of dopamine we wanted
by satiating our desire to fill in the information gap.
Which makes your desire to click next time even stronger.
In the same way, when we disobey rules,
we can also find pleasure in a surge of dopamine which creates positive reinforcement.
You may also be a genetically predisposed rule-breaker.
Studies on twins and adopted children have shown
how your genes play a large role in how impulsive you are.
In general, people with lower levels of baseline seratonin
were seen to have increased impulsive behaviour
which led to breaking the rules.
With all that said, don't you dare go watching more AsapSCIENCE videos.
You're simply not allowed.
I'm putting this playlist right here, but its not for you.
And you better not subscribe for more weekly videos every Thursday.
We won't see you back here then.
Bye.