Term
Intermittent reinforcement
A reward that arrives unpredictably. It's thought to be harder to stop reaching for. Newport uses this idea to explain the pull of feeds and likes.
Digital Minimalism, Cal Newport
Explained in
- Digital Minimalism, Cal Newport
- Stop Walking on Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care About Has Borderline Personality Disorder, Paul Mason and Randi Kreger
A principle of behavioural psychology: an unpredictable reward fixes a behaviour more firmly than a steady one. The same principle underlies slot machines.