The modified skinner labs

B.f. Skinner is the father of something called operant conditioning (positive reinforcement, positive punishment, negative reinforcement, and negative punishment). that we all have been cursed with during the years. It is a combination of carrot and stick when it comes to giving out rewards. There is a famous picture of a bird pecking a red dot until a light turns on and a reward is given. The more this action is repeated the more cemented the behaviour became until the bird would do nothing much more than to try and get more rewards. Now put this into a slot machine context. We want to think ourselves out of a bad or dangerous situation with a rational state of mind. But our minds are not there with us when playing. The mind is somewhere else (hijacked). The rational mind is only switched back on when the money is gone and you have to step away from that "punishment & reward giving machine" 

Then as I have said many times before there is the seesaw effect to consider. The more you play and release dopamine the more the balance of the seesaw tips resulting in the opposite effect coming of it ie depression angst and feeling low. The only way of keeping a balance is by keeping the seesaw still and straight.

To balance any chemical imbalance such as dopamine you need 30 days clean to fix it.

I wonder if Skinner imagined how far his ideas would go?

Best
C