Why Human Attention Thrives on Uncertainty

Have you ever looked at your phone to see if there were any notifications, only to find it buzzed just 5 minutes ago? Or "liked" a social media feed with the expectation of seeing something new, but knowing that it will most likely be something that they will never remember again?

In that case, you are a normal human being: Congratulations! If you are one of these, you have a perfectly normal human brain: Congratulations!

This phenomenon is the result of a complex process of perception, neuroscience, and the complex, constantly evolving digital world that vies for our attention daily.

The Universal Attraction of the Unknown

Humanity is a pattern-seeking animal. We make predictions constantly, as they help us navigate the world more efficiently. However, when a pattern is broken, our attention goes to the break.

Suppose you have to pass through the interplay among perception, neuroscience, and the same street every day. In a short period of time, your senses don't even notice what's around you. However, if you put an unusual object in the middle of the sidewalk, then all of a sudden, your attention becomes fixed on that object.

This tendency arose out of practical considerations. A strange thing might have been a danger sign, a chance to make money, or a piece of information that might be useful. In the course of human evolution, something strange might have been a warning, an opportunity to profit, or a piece of information that might help. It may have been a predator, or it may have been dinner, as a strange sound came from the bushes. In any case, paying attention was important. This mechanism is still in operation today at BetRolla Casino Austria; however, instead of forests, it is a world of screens. The psychology, however, is very consistent in both.

Predictability, Surprise, and the Information Gap

If the results are all but forecast, interest slowly dissipates. In television series and even when reading a mystery book, people cannot put it down until they find out the ending; this is what makes cliffhangers so effective.

This is commonly referred to as an "information gap" by psychologists. If we have a bit more information about the story than what is available, curiosity arises. The brain believes it's a task that wasn't finished.

This leaves a sort of suspense that needs to be resolved.

A message that doesn't carry any contextual information.

A headline that doesn't contain any details.

A preview of the ending to a story that ends with a line like “You won't believe what happened next…”

Annoying? Absolutely.

Effective? Also absolutely.

When we know less than we would like to, it creates an attention deficit, one that is often hard to obtain from full information.

The Brain's Prediction Machine

Over the past few years, several areas in modern neuroscience have come to see the brain as a prediction machine. The brain is continually predicting what is likely to happen next, rather than reacting to events. It makes comparisons with one's expectations every moment.

If it is correct, there's not much attention to pay.

If the brain doesn't make a prediction, then it reacts.

It is known as a prediction error by scientists. This is why it’s easier to keep memories of surprises alive. Any surprise event requires the brain to revise its neuro-internal model of the world and hence is neurologically significant.

In the real world, uncertainty is a stimulus to the brain because it implies opportunities for prediction errors. And there's the interesting item of prediction errors. Reward is not the only motivation for taking drugs, as dopamine is more relevant to the expectation of reward than to the actual receipt.

Dopamine Is More About Anticipation Than Reward

Motivation, anticipation, and learning are heavily dependent upon dopamine. The anticipation of a reward elicits greater neural activity than the reward itself (Lau et al., 2012; Petrone et al., 2013).

So much so that a desire may outweigh a reception.

This knowledge can provide insight into many common behavioral patterns. Uncertainty is the emotion of being engaged, whether it's waiting for a package to arrive, reading social media, following the market, or waiting to see the result of a sporting event. There's a certain level of engagement that comes from uncertainty.

The excitement is an element of the experience. At times, hunting can be more interesting than the catch. This has been demonstrated over the last few hundred years by humans.

Variable Rewards and the Attention Economy

The variable reward system is one of the single most powerful psychological motivations for engaging in a behavior. When there is a reward present each pass, it is soon "predictable. Sometimes, something offered is so attractive that it becomes irresistible. Past research in behavioral science has demonstrated that intermittent rewards at casino online real money can produce greater persistence than guaranteed rewards.

Why?

When people don't know what to expect, they will keep their eyes on you.

If they're different, the brain is alert. It persistently looks for patterns and clues that could help in making better predictions in the future.