#behaviour

7 public notes

Why emperor penguins huddle

Emperor penguins can reduce heat loss by gathering closely, shielding one another from wind and reducing exposed surface. Huddles are dynamic: birds make small movements and positions change over time. The benefit comes from the group's physical arrangement, not from each penguin independently producing extra heat on command.

Nature & Earth♡ 0🔖 0

dissonance

Conflicting actions and beliefs can create discomfort

Cognitive dissonance can arise when important beliefs and behaviour conflict. Someone who values punctuality but repeatedly arrives late may feel uncomfortable about the inconsistency. That discomfort can lead to changed behaviour, a revised belief or a justification that makes the conflict feel smaller.

Psychology♡ 0🔖 0

ants

How ants create a trail without a central planner

Many ants mark routes with pheromones that influence the movements of other ants. When workers repeatedly use a productive route, they can reinforce its chemical trail, while unused trails weaken as the chemicals disperse or break down. Coordinated movement emerges from local signals rather than one ant directing everyone.

Nature & Earth♡ 0🔖 0

incentives

What behaviour does the rule actually reward?

People respond to what a system rewards, which may differ from what its designers intended. If a team receives credit only for the number of tickets closed, splitting one issue into several tickets can improve the score without helping more users. The incentive changes what becomes worth doing.

Thinking♡ 0🔖 0

attribution

A person's behaviour also reflects the situation

Observers can give personality too much credit when explaining someone else's behaviour. A quiet participant may seem uninterested, although they could be unfamiliar with the topic or unable to hear clearly. Correspondence bias describes drawing a personal conclusion without sufficiently allowing for the situation.

Psychology♡ 0🔖 0

reinforcement

Negative reinforcement is not punishment

Negative reinforcement increases a behaviour by removing something unpleasant. If fastening a seat belt stops a warning sound, relief from the sound can reinforce fastening it. Punishment, by contrast, is defined by reducing a behaviour. Here, negative means removal rather than bad.

Psychology♡ 0🔖 0

reinforcement

Reinforcement is defined by what happens to behaviour

A consequence counts as reinforcement when it makes a behaviour more likely to occur again. Praise is not automatically reinforcing just because it is intended as a reward. If public praise makes someone avoid volunteering next time, it has not reinforced volunteering in that situation.

Psychology♡ 0🔖 0