Hello Steemians,

I have a theory...That a crypto-based social media like Steemit could shape human behaviour in the long run based on positive and negative reinforcement. I know you probably don't understand a thing, (except you are a psychology/science major) so join me in the following paragraphs as I try to help you see my point.

Pavlov's Experiment

So there was this guy named Pavlov who happens to be a lovely fellow who we remember because of his niceness to humans dogs! Hate to burst your bubble but no he wasn't a pet lover! Well, he was nice to dogs because he used them for science experiments. Selfish bastard. But those experiments are the reason we are even having this talk right now.

Yeah! So he fed them. Nothing spectacular about that except for one tiny detail. He rings a giant jingle bell each time he does feed them . Boom! Are you getting ideas already? No? Read on...

As he repeated this overtime, he observed that the dogs begin to respond as if there's food whenever he rang the ball (autocorrect) bell. The dog salivates massively. You know like that time when your favourite food is being served and you can already percieve the aroma. your nose goes into overdrive, your salivary glands pour the slippery substance while your tummy churns aggressively. This is what Pavvy acheived by ringing a bell.

Conclusion?
Dogs respond to an associated stimuli when attached to a primary stimuli. Is that all? Well, Practicals have shown that Chimps, dolphins even humans are capable of similar behaviour under similar circumstances.

We are all animals aren't we? Of course, if Charles Darwin is to be trusted at all then we all should have the same evolutionary origins for our brain. The only difference is need.

Talking about need. If your are reading this, you need SBD.

As far as social media is concerned, we all need something. Be it likes from Fake book friends or instagrass or Snapcheat or whatever. That thing we need on the platform can be used to shape our behaviours in a certain manner. Worse still it's going to be an unconscious response.

Oh! Is That Why Everyone's Nice?

Well, if you understand the concept of reinforcement, then you will get me perfectly. Lemme try to explain below.

• Positive Reinforcement: it posits that a behaviour rewarded is repeated while behaviour not rewarded is discarded.

In a social platform like Steemit, our rewards come in the form of internet money which is converted into real money that can solve real needs. This has a bigger impact than say likes. So you can understand how we are the champions of the experiment in this internet age.

Moreso, before you earn such internet money, you have to get the subjective approval of the populace to earn. Because people are emotional wrecks, no one (except a monk) will give you an upvote if you are on his/her left hand side.

So you understand why people are nice to whales? We know that on the superficial level it's to get upvoted. But on a deeper sense, we are all falling into Pavvy's trapcard. Boom goes the bomb!

• Negative Reinforcement: this one posits the opposite of the former. Behaviours can be modified when punishment is given and withdrawn.

It's only a bot that gets flagged once and twice but still keeps on doing that which earned it a flag in the first place. Is there any other way to punish offenders on this platform? No one that I know of.

That's why I insist that flags should stay but the SP valuation attached to it should dissipate. 1 person, 1 flag!

So whether good or bad, our behaviours are being modified to suit the algorithm and ultimately benefit us in a very individually selfish way. But that's a good thing I guess.

If we are all programmed to be good steemitizens, we could be the forces that will force goodness into the whole world. Pause! Errm... There are some Judas among the steemsciples! So we are not all good but I guess you get the point.

For me, this could be seen as a giant science experiment that rewards good people for being good while punishing bad apples by throwing them away. But keep in mind that you are only assured your rights in a decentralized platform! Always remember that where yours ends, another man's begin.

Perhaps someday in the nearest future we may have enough resources to organize a standardized trial to find out what these effects have on our behaviour. Until then, we have to take a bite from the tree of steem and be good!

I delegated 100 SP to @Steem-Ambassadors !

Its approximately about 10% of my portfolio. I see it like paying my tithe to a programme I love so much and appreciate for the innovation.

I am also fully invested in it to see it succeed successfully!

What About You? Who Do You Pay Tithe To? BOTS???

Food for thought!

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They call me @Nairadaddy aka SteemDaddy!

My aim is to leave you better than I find you everyday!

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