Uncertain rewards generate more attention and attachment than guaranteed ones
Evidence
In June it is completely predictable that the robin will give voice when the light intensity reaches 0.01 candle power, and that the bedlam of other singers will follow in predictable sequence. In autumn, on the other hand, the robin is silent, and it is quite unpredictable whether the covey-chorus will occur at all. The disappointment I feel on these mornings of silence perhaps shows that things hoped for have a higher value than things assured. The hope of hearing quail is worth half a dozen risings-in-the-dark. — Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac, 194
Categorization
- XREF: The same logic as ch3’s note that winter scarcity enables attention: unpredictability as an engine of attentive observation, tying to the polyad’s observation-as-method. — connects to: The remembered quality of an experience, not its yield, is what endures — Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac: With Other…, 152; Ambiguity in inferred reward functions is usually harmless behaviorally — Brian Christian, The Alignment Problem, 1102; Anxiety drives careful attention while enthusiasm drives emotional involvement. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology: Key Readings, 1741 (+2 more)
- DEEPTHINKING: Not quite — it is a compact, well-put observation, but sits below the paradigm-shifting bar.
Broader Connections
- Intermittent reward schedules produce more persistent behavior than consistent rewards do
#exemplifies(0.90) — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 654 - Ambiguity in inferred reward functions is usually harmless behaviorally
#contradicts(0.85) — Brian Christian, The Alignment Problem, 1102 - Anxiety drives careful attention while enthusiasm drives emotional involvement.
#expands(0.75) — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 1741