031 - Extinction Burst

031 - Extinction Burst

Why do you so often fail at removing bad habits from your life?

You try to diet, to exercise, to stop smoking, to stop staying up until 2 a.m. stuck in a hamster wheel of internet diversions, and right when you seem to be doing well, right when it seems like your bad habit is dead, you lose control. It seems all too easy for one transgression, one tiny cheating bite of pizza or puff of smoke, and then it's all over. You binge, calm down, and the habit returns, reanimated and stronger than ever.

You ask yourself, how is it possible I can be so good at so many things, so clever in so many ways, and still fail at outsmarting my own vice-ridden brain? The answer has to do with conditioning, classical like Pavlov and operant like Skinner, and a psychological phenomenon that's waiting in the future for every person who tries to twist shut the spigot of reward and pleasure - the extinction burst, and in this episode we explore how it works, why it happens, and how you can overcome it.

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Jaksot(328)

299 - Debunkbot

299 - Debunkbot

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298 - Tribal - Michael Morris

298 - Tribal - Michael Morris

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297 - Project Alpha - Brian Brushwood (rebroadcast)

297 - Project Alpha - Brian Brushwood (rebroadcast)

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296 - Job Therapy - Tessa West

296 - Job Therapy - Tessa West

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16 Syys 202455min

295 - Easy Crafts for the Insane - Kelly Williams Brown

295 - Easy Crafts for the Insane - Kelly Williams Brown

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2 Syys 20241h 15min

294 - Living Constitutionally - A.J. Jacobs

294 - Living Constitutionally - A.J. Jacobs

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293 - Do Your Own Research - Sedona Chinn (rebroadcast)

293 - Do Your Own Research - Sedona Chinn (rebroadcast)

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5 Elo 202445min

292 - The Society Library - Jamie Joyce

292 - The Society Library - Jamie Joyce

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