I’ve been thinking about human behaviour. And to me it seems that our brains invoke a “default action” or a “default network” when there is no actionable stimuli or a task or actionable goal at hand. Is there such a thing in psychology?

For example if I complete a task and don’t have anything else to do this second I fall back on a default action. This action is dependent on the situation. This action is something that I usually do in a similar situation.

This can be harmful if you are addicted to something. You seek out your addiction. The default action can overridden. But it requires effort. Default action does not. In case of addiction the required effort can be overwhelming. But if you can override the default action again and again the new action becomes the default action in that situation.

  • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world
    10·
    10 days ago

    I totally get what you’re saying!

    My personal example is when I finish a task, my default action is to have a cigarette, and/or look at my phone.

    I don’t know if it directly explains these actions or not, but psychology uses the term schema for “pre-programmed” responses to stimuli.

    For example, if there was a dog that bit you as a kid, your mind will remember that, and the next time you see a dog, your brain will default to “stay away”. If you encounter friendly dogs after that, your schema will change to “proceed with caution” as it now knows that dogs can be nice, but it’ll remember that bite.

    They are mental shortcuts. Instead of completely analyzing the current situation and creating a plan from scratch, your brain remembers the last similar experience it had, and proceeds as if they are pretty much the same.

    I’m thinking this relates to your “default actions” as: I was bored before, and when I did X, it caused the boredom to go away, so I’ll try that first. And it just kind of happens without you consciously deciding to do it.

    Also, if I’m the only person that understands what you’re talking about, you might be describing a trait of ADHD. I used to think a lot of the things I experienced were completely normal, but eventually figured out that I’m very neurodivergent.

    • Cactus_Head@programming.devEnglish
      2·
      10 days ago

      what you are describe just sound like habits? An action in response to lack of stimulus is still a habitat. When OP said default action in the post header, I thought that they just didn’t realise they are talking about instincts

      • Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world
        1·
        8 days ago

        Yeah, more or less, but habit has a different, less concrete definition. If a habit was a building, many schemas would be the blueprints for it.