Is there a scientific reason why I don’t love a song after 100 listens, or still find the same joke amusing?
Why do we get sick of eating too much of our favorite food?
A favorite movie seems boring after a few watches…
Is there a reason for this besides, “Well, we get used to it.”??
Come to think of it, its sort of a mixed blessing.
But I’d still like to know why.
Novelty?
You begin to like something, not only on it’s other merits, but also because it’s something different and new. However, watch the same movie a million times, and there’s nothing new to see, you can probably say every line in your sleep. When there’s nothing new to discover, there’s no novetly. Listen to the same song over and over again and it will eventually lose it’s effect on you.
Granted, that dosen’t really explain much. Perhaps it’s like Tolerance? You build up a tolerance to something, and the same thing doesn’t satisfy you any more?
I don’t know.
Its a Neuro-Psychological phenomenon known as:
Habituation – In physiology, a process whereby an organism’s response to the same stimulus temporarily lessens with repeated presentations.
Here is an an animal study which gives you a basic idea of how it works: link.
and another: link.
In basic terms, your neurons become tired of the stimulus and whatever originally got them excited (and you experienced pleasure or what not) no longer does so.
You can experience Dehabituation by abstaining from the stimulus of which you’ve become bored. However, time varies and something that is imprinted strongly in your memory may never become “novel” or “interesting” again.
+1
its like having roast beef every day
the appetite of our zest for life is based on the unknown, imagined, or similarised to another.
enjoyment of the unknown is as common as fear of the unknow.
as stated its a electrical reaction which soon saturates allowing no flow, can be depleted but leaves a trace of a chemical footprint
familiarity breeds contempt.
>> its like having roast beef every day
Or sleeping with the same person every day.
is there a beef sutra?
Its the same reason we no longer notice the feeling of clothes on our skin or the fact that we hold saliva in our mouths. If we did not habituate, we would suffer information overload.
Any novel information holds a high chance of either aiding or disrupting your survival. Therefore, it is a good idea to pay attention to it. Most habituated things WONT kill you so theres not much point devoting mental resources to them.