I thought there were thousands :don'twantto-see:/
Humans do weird stuff. Sometimes, we don’t even realize our behaviors are strange until we really stop to look at ourselves objectively. Then, it’s only natural to wonder why we do that weird stuff. So in the spirit of analyzing ourselves, here are some of the odd things we do every day and the leading explanations for why we do them.
https://listverse.com/2015/05/03/10-scientific-explanations-for-our-weird-behaviors/
Not Replacing The Toilet Paper Roll
On the scale of difficult things to do, replacing the toilet paper roll lands way down near the bottom of the list. Still, for some reason, many of us have a difficult time completing this simple task with any level of consistency.
Why is that? The reason for our TP sloppiness, according to a pair of psychologists from the University of New York, isn’t really due to laziness but because replacing the roll isn’t the slightest bit stimulating and offers virtually no intrinsic reward (except to the anal retentive).
Similar chores like taking out the trash or doing the dishes are equally boring and unmotivating, but at least they give us the satisfaction of keeping things stink- and rodent-free. Properly loading the toilet paper might make things look a little better, but so what?
The NYU psychologists, Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan, say that for humans to be truly motivated to do anything, the task must meet three psychological needs: competence, autonomy, and relatedness. The chore should be challenging enough to make us feel competent when we complete it. It should make us feel like we have some sort of control over what we’re doing.
And it should give us the sense that we’re enhancing our relationships with loved ones. This theory is known as the self-determination theory. Replacing the TP falls far short of meeting those three criteria. The only one it might fulfill is relatedness—that is, if you live in a very “we’re all in this together and we all pitch in with the chores” type of household.
Thus, getting a spouse or roommate to always properly replace the toilet paper or to do any other mundane task is probably a lost cause. Unless you can psychologically convince them that doing so takes a certain level of proficiency, that they’re by no means a “slave” to forever doing the chore, and that it will make them more connected to others. Now that’s a difficult task.
Humans do weird stuff. Sometimes, we don’t even realize our behaviors are strange until we really stop to look at ourselves objectively. Then, it’s only natural to wonder why we do that weird stuff. So in the spirit of analyzing ourselves, here are some of the odd things we do every day and the leading explanations for why we do them.
https://listverse.com/2015/05/03/10-scientific-explanations-for-our-weird-behaviors/
Not Replacing The Toilet Paper Roll
On the scale of difficult things to do, replacing the toilet paper roll lands way down near the bottom of the list. Still, for some reason, many of us have a difficult time completing this simple task with any level of consistency.
Why is that? The reason for our TP sloppiness, according to a pair of psychologists from the University of New York, isn’t really due to laziness but because replacing the roll isn’t the slightest bit stimulating and offers virtually no intrinsic reward (except to the anal retentive).
Similar chores like taking out the trash or doing the dishes are equally boring and unmotivating, but at least they give us the satisfaction of keeping things stink- and rodent-free. Properly loading the toilet paper might make things look a little better, but so what?
The NYU psychologists, Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan, say that for humans to be truly motivated to do anything, the task must meet three psychological needs: competence, autonomy, and relatedness. The chore should be challenging enough to make us feel competent when we complete it. It should make us feel like we have some sort of control over what we’re doing.
And it should give us the sense that we’re enhancing our relationships with loved ones. This theory is known as the self-determination theory. Replacing the TP falls far short of meeting those three criteria. The only one it might fulfill is relatedness—that is, if you live in a very “we’re all in this together and we all pitch in with the chores” type of household.
Thus, getting a spouse or roommate to always properly replace the toilet paper or to do any other mundane task is probably a lost cause. Unless you can psychologically convince them that doing so takes a certain level of proficiency, that they’re by no means a “slave” to forever doing the chore, and that it will make them more connected to others. Now that’s a difficult task.
