New research from the University of Copenhagen challenges the idea that digital technology “steals” our attention by highlighting the brain’s reward system as the primary driver of attention shifts. The study found that people consistently choose tasks with the highest perceived reward over habitual actions, even when faced with conflicting habits.
In a series of experiments, researchers discovered that participants prepare multiple attention shifts simultaneously and associate them with different rewards. This suggests that our brains are programmed to prioritize immediate, valuable rewards over long-term goals or ingrained habits.
The findings have significant implications for understanding how we make decisions in the moment and plan for the future. The study’s authors argue that it is not technology that controls our attention but rather our natural reward-seeking tendencies.
The research also sheds light on the relationship between habits and rewards, suggesting that even well-trained habits can be overridden by a more valuable action. This insight is particularly relevant to discussions around the “attention economy” and how tech companies leverage our subjective values to drive engagement.
Future studies will focus on examining how we recall actions planned for the future, with researchers aiming to understand how our brains balance short-term rewards with long-term goals.
Source: https://neurosciencenews.com/attention-tech-habit-neuroscience-27836/