Tuesday, December 14, 2010

A Psychological Understanding

I didn't want to have that Nutella. It just sort of happened. I'm trying to figure out why. Here's what I've figured out.

Pure. Fucking. Habit. It's the kitchen. It's become a habit that whenever I go into the kitchen I have Nutella. In psychology, they call this...classical conditioning. Or Pavlovian conditioning.

Pavlov, the psychologist, would ring a bell every time he brought meat to dogs, who would salivate with the meat's presence.

The dogs were conditioned to associate the bell with meat. Soon, the dogs began to salivate with the mere sound of the bell, without the meat: a response that wouldn't have existed without the classical conditioning.

I have conditioned myself to associate the kitchen with eating nutella. I have to extinguish the conditioned response.

On a different note, I don't want to wear leggings to ballet tonight, because my legs look disgustingly lumpy and fat and ugh. I have no idea what to wear. But ballet is my major motivation to become skinny.

5 comments:

  1. Is it possible to throw out the nutella? Then you could place a rubber-band on your arm and snap it every time you entered the kitchen to associate it with pain instead of hazel-nutty goodness.

    Have fun at ballet! It certainly is a great motivation to be thin.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh God. I hate it when you get stuck in a rut like that. I think Tai's idea is really, really good. Or you could put the Nutella somewhere else, or make a rule to yourself never to eat in the kitchen. That way, as you're leaving the kitchen and you have the Nutella, you might think "hang on...". Sorry I am not much help. Thank you so much for your very, very sweet comment on my last post. I needed some reassurance.

    ReplyDelete
  3. You should try reconditioning yourself, like evrytime you go to the kitchen, drink a glass of water...just a thought.
    I hated wearing leggins to ballet...
    xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. ugh i hate it when that happens. and i hate it that when you mentioned 'pavlovian' and 'pavlov' i immediately thought of pavlova (aussie meringue dessert)!! yum i feel like it now. and i'm not kidding you i just had the biggest pang of hunger while typing this. i'll go and guzzle some water :)
    thank you for you lovely comment! xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. "Change your thinking, change your life."

    You need to dispute those negative habits and conditions and replace them with new ones. You are learned helpless. But you need to fight off this helplessness, and take control.

    haha just joking...I am such a hypocrite.

    But seriously, I have those stupid habits to, and they're bringing me down. Like when people offer me food, I take it. I also tend to, ahem, ask for that chip or that piece of candy or that bite of my boyfriend's sandwich. :/ I know, I'm a pig.

    Be strong. :)

    ReplyDelete