It's all about the attitude: Prospect Theory
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It's all about the attitude: Prospect Theory
Prospect theory is based on the concept that the psychological impact of losses is roughly twice as great as an equivalent gain. For most people, losing $100 feels twice as bad as winning $100 feels good. Consequently, losses loom much larger than gains in most people's decision making.
Prospect theory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Prospect theory is normally used in behavioral economics, but I think it can be used to support the power of positive thinking when battling addiction.
I quit drinking many times. For most of those attempts I viewed myself as having to take a loss. I lost drinking. Looking at it as a loss was what made all my relapses inevitable. The emotional distress of the loss was always in my mind, gnawing at me.
My success came when I stopped thinking in terms of not drinking, but instead in terms of giving myself a better, sober life. I wasn't losing anything, and suffering the extreme mental impact of loss that Prospect theory implies. Instead I was gaining something very valuable - a better life. My improved attitude had an immediate and lasting impact on my ability to defeat my addiction to alcohol.
Soooooo...for my new friends here at SR embarking on their sober journeys. Do not look at it as giving up drinking. Look at it as gaining a better life.
Best of Luck!
Prospect theory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Prospect theory is normally used in behavioral economics, but I think it can be used to support the power of positive thinking when battling addiction.
I quit drinking many times. For most of those attempts I viewed myself as having to take a loss. I lost drinking. Looking at it as a loss was what made all my relapses inevitable. The emotional distress of the loss was always in my mind, gnawing at me.
My success came when I stopped thinking in terms of not drinking, but instead in terms of giving myself a better, sober life. I wasn't losing anything, and suffering the extreme mental impact of loss that Prospect theory implies. Instead I was gaining something very valuable - a better life. My improved attitude had an immediate and lasting impact on my ability to defeat my addiction to alcohol.
Soooooo...for my new friends here at SR embarking on their sober journeys. Do not look at it as giving up drinking. Look at it as gaining a better life.
Best of Luck!
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Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 10,912
Absolutely. This is something that we use in some of the research projects that we run. Although I have some reservations regarding how much free conscious capacity we have to "get ourselves" make decisions based upon this kind of theoretical knowledge, it's definitely the right attitude with which our choices can be improved.
We just had a little project that combined studying human genetics and a decision making behavior when risk is introduced, and the question was the association between certain genetic profiles and people's tendency to make these types of choices. Now we are expanding this to address how drug addiction and cravings in an extended period of abstinence affects these decisions. This will be both with human subjects and animals. Similar ideas to the one you brought up in this post.
We just had a little project that combined studying human genetics and a decision making behavior when risk is introduced, and the question was the association between certain genetic profiles and people's tendency to make these types of choices. Now we are expanding this to address how drug addiction and cravings in an extended period of abstinence affects these decisions. This will be both with human subjects and animals. Similar ideas to the one you brought up in this post.
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