Nathalie Nahai - Dopamine loops: The hidden psychology of why we're addicted to our phones

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THE WEB PSYCHOLOGIST @TheWebPsych
DOPAMINE LOOPS
THE PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND WHY WE’RE
ADDICTED TO OUR PHONES

1  INTRODUCTION
2  THE BIG PROBLEM
3  ADDICTION?
4  5 TRIGGERS OF DOPAMINE LOOPS
5  KEY TAKEAWAYS

1
INTRODUCTION

THE WEB PSYCHOLOGIST
NATHALIE NAHAI
@TheWebPsych
The Web Psychologist .com
Institute Of Web Psychology .com

WHO I’VE WORKED WITH

WEB PSYCHOLOGY
[ ]I coined the term ‘Web Psychology’
in 2011 and defined it as…

WEB PSYCHOLOGY
The empirical study of how
online environments influence
our attitudes and behaviours
“ ”

HOW IT HELPS YOU
[ ]Web Psychology is a psychological toolkit
that will help you design more persuasive
websites, apps, and user experiences

WEBPSYCHOLOGY
HCI
neuro-
aesthetics
user
experience
social
psychology
cognitive
psychology
neuroscience
cross-cultural
psychology
behavioural
economics
persuasive
technology
personality
psychology
digital
humanities
marketing

IT’S ABOUT CONTEXT
UNIVERSAL
CULTURAL
INDIVIDUAL

UNIVERSAL
CULTURAL
INDIVIDUAL
IT’S ABOUT CONTEXT

3 SECRETS
TO ONLINE SUCCESS

1  KNOW WHO YOU’RE TARGETING

2  COMMUNICATE PERSUASIVELY

2  COMMUNICATE PERSUASIVELY
3  SELL WITH INTEGRITY

2
THE BIG PROBLEM

EXPER MENT
1  WHAT’S THE FIRST THING YOU REACH FOR IN THE MORNING?

EXPER MENT
2  HOW MANY TIMES AN HOUR DO YOU CHECK YOUR PHONE?

EXPER MENT
3  HOW LONG CAN YOU GO BEFORE YOU FEEL ANXIOUS AND HAVE
TO CHECK YOUR PHONE?

EXPER MENT
3  HOW LONG CAN YOU GO BEFORE YOU FEEL ANXIOUS AND HAVE
TO CHECK YOUR PHONE?
4  IF YOU ACCIDENTALLY LEAVE YOUR PHONE AT HOME, DO YOU
PANIC?

THE BIG PROBLEM

TECH ANXIETY
Being disconnected from technology is
surprisingly stressful. There's often a feeling
of missing out, as we worry about what's
going on… without our knowledge.
“ ”Source: Leon Edwards, Managing Director, Versapack (2013)

#FOMO

TRENDS
62% of smartphone users
aged 18-44 reach for their smartphones
immediately on waking up
[ ]Source: IDC report sponsored by Facebook (2013)

Source: Harvard Business School (2013)
28"
35" 37"
41"
51"
Stressed Not bothered Lack of control Not being included
amongst friends
Extreme tech
anxiety
Being separated from your device

70"
56"
48" 51"
44"
Within an hour of
getting up
Within an hour of
going to sleep
Over the weekend Continuously during
vacation
A great deal of
anxiety if you lost
your phone and
couldn't replace it for
a week
How often do you check your phone?
Source: Harvard Business School (2013)

THE HACK

TECH HAPPY
Whatever people were doing,
whether it was having sex or reading or
shopping, they tended to be happier if they
focused on the activity instead of thinking
about something else
“ ”Source: John Tierney, New York Times (2010)

7 DAY CHALLENGE
1  TURN ON YOUR PHONE AT 11AM

7 DAY CHALLENGE
2  PRACTICE MINDFULNESS – 10 DEEP BREATHS

7 DAY CHALLENGE
3  DESIGNATE PHONE-FREE ZONES

7 DAY CHALLENGE
4  BANISH PHONES AT MEALTIMES

7 DAY CHALLENGE
4  BANISH PHONES AT MEALTIMES
5  USE AN ALARM CLOCK, PUT YOUR PHONE IN THE
NEXT ROOM

3
ADDICTION?

DEFINITION OF ADDICTION
A repetitive habit pattern that
increases the risk of disease and/or
associated personal and social problems,
often experienced subjectively as
‘‘loss of control’’
“ Source: Annual Review of Psychology (1998)
”

Q
WHAT DO THE FOLLOWING THREE
THINGS HAVE IN COMMON?
[ ]
CASE STUDY

EXPER MENT

A
THEY’RE DESIGNED TO INTITIATE
DOPAMINE LOOPS
[ ]
CASE STUDY

HOW DOES THIS WORK?

VARIABLE RATIO REINFORCEMENT
We never know when we'll get a
satisfying email, so we keep checking, over
and over again, like slot machines – we
keep seeking that pleasurable hit
“ ”Source: Susan Davis, Web MD (2013)

JUST BAD HABITS?
People aren't addicted to smartphones
themselves as much as they are addicted
to "checking habits" that develop
with phone use[ ]Source: Personal and Ubiquitous Computing (2012)

TRIGGERS
Certain environmental triggers like
being bored or listening to a lecture
can trigger the habits
[ ]Source: Personal and Ubiquitous Computing (2012)

ADDICTIVE BY DESIGN?
It's an environment of almost constant
interruptions and distractions… Human
beings have a deep, primitive desire to know
everything that's going on around them
“ Source: Nicholas Carr (2010)
”

4
NEUROCHEMICAL

DOPAMINE
•  DISCOVERED 1958 BY ARVID CARLSSON AND NILS-AKE HILLARP,
NATIONAL HEART INSTITUTE OF SWEDEN

DOPAMINE
•  CRITICAL FOR MOOD, ATTENTION, MOTIVATION, THINKING,
MOVING, SLEEPING, SEEKING AND REWARD

DOPAMINE
•  CRITICAL FOR MOOD, ATTENTION, MOTIVATION, THINKING,
MOVING, SLEEPING, SEEKING AND REWARD
•  CAUSES PLEASURE-SEEKING BEHAVIOUR
(THE OPIOID SYSTEM MAKES US FEEL PLEASURE)

THE 5 TRIGGERS OF
DOPAMINE LOOPS

1 WANTING VS LIKING
DOPAMINE
“WANTING”
TAKE
ACTION

1 WANTING VS LIKING
DOPAMINE
“WANTING”
OPIOID
“LIKING”
TAKE
ACTION
FEEL
SATISFIED

1 WANTING VS LIKING
DOPAMINE
“WANTING”
OPIOID
“LIKING”
FEEL
SATISFIED

BUT
The dopamine system is stronger
than the opioid system - you tend to
seek more than you are satisfied
[ ]

1 WANTING VS LIKING
INSTANT REWARD

2 ANTICIPATION
[ ]The brain shows more activity
when you’re anticipating a reward
than when you’re getting one

3 UNPREDICTABLE
Activated when you experience an
unpredictable reward – such as a
great email, tweet, ‘like’ or text
[ ]

4 CUES
[ ]Activated by cues that tell us
there’s a reward coming, such as the
specific beep of push notifications or text

5 SMALL IS UNSATISFYING
[ ]Stimulated most strongly when the
reward is so small that it doesn't fully
satisfy – e.g. 140 characters!

THE HACK
1  TURN OFF YOUR PUSH NOTIFICATIONS

THE HACK
2  UNINSTALL TWITTER / INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK (STREAMS)

THE HACK
3  UNINSTALL YOUR EMAIL
(Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Gmail > delete)

THE HACK
3  UNINSTALL YOUR EMAIL
(Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Gmail > delete)
4  DISABLE SAFARI / GOOGLE CHROME
(Settings > General > Restrictions > Set up passcode)

5
KEY TAKEAWAYS

KEY TAKEAWAYS
1  BE CONSCIOUS: List the situations and emotions that make you
want to check your phone. Are you bored / lonely / anxious? What
could you do instead to soothe yourself?

KEY TAKEAWAYS
2  CHOOSE: You’re in control. Turn your notiﬁcations off and decide
if you want to check your phone.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
2  CHOOSE: You’re in control. Turn your notiﬁcations off and decide
if you want to check your phone.
3  SET SOME RULES: List times / situations in which you won’t use
your device (e.g. mealtimes, in bed, during play time).

MAKE HEALTHY CHOICES
I don’t use the metaphor of addiction.
We’re not going to give it up. We shouldn’t
give it up. It’s more like food, and being on a
digital diet. The questions we should ask are,
‘What are the healthy choices?’
“ ”Source: NY Times, Sherry Turkle (2012)

RESOURCES & REFERENCES

RESOURCES
1  THE VIRTUAL REVOLUTION
bit.ly/virtualrevolution
2  10 ONLINE TOOLS FOR BETTER ATTENTION & FOCUS
bit.ly/10focusapps
3  NICHOLAS CARR (BOOK)
The Shallows: How the Internet is Changing the Way We Think,
Read and Remember

REFERENCES
1  A. Oulasvirta, T. Rattenbury, L. Ma, E. Raita (2012). Habits make smartphone use more pervasive. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 16(1), pp. 105-114.
2  Nicholas Carr (2010). The Shallows: How the Internet is Changing the Way We Think, Read and Remember (Atlantic Books).
3  K.C. Berridge and T.E. Robinson (1998). What is the role of dopamine in reward: hedonic impact, reward learning, or incentive salience? Brain Research Reviews, 28,
pp.309–369.
4  G. A. Marlatt, J. S. Baer. D. M. Donovan and D. R. Kivlahan (1988). Addictive behaviors: etiology and treatment. Annual Review of Psychology. 39(1), pp. 223-252.
5  Susan Davis, Web MD (2013). Addicted to your smartphone? Here's what to do.
http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/addicted-your-smartphone-what-to-do
6  An IDC Research Report, Sponsored By Facebook (2013). Always connected: how smartphones and social keep us engaged.
http://www.nu.nl/ﬁles/IDC-Facebook%20Always%20Connected%20(1).pdf
7  The Drum (2013). Over half of brits suffer 'extreme tech anxiety' when separated from smartphones.
http://www.thedrum.com/news/2013/07/11/over-half-brits-suffer-extreme-tech-anxiety-when-separated-smartphones
8  Leslie Perlow, PhD, the Konosuke Matsushita professor of leadership at the Harvard Business School (2013).
In: http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/addicted-your-smartphone-what-to-do
9  John Tierny, New York Times (2010) When the mind wanders, happiness also strays.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/16/science/16tier.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=homepage
10  Tanya Mohn, New York Times (2012). Silencing the smartphone.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/01/business/some-companies-seek-to-wean-employees-from-their-smartphones.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

THANK YOU!
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Nathalie Nahai - Dopamine loops: The hidden psychology of why we're addicted to our phones

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