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While the study classifies it as exploration and claims an intrinsic reward that will die out later in life, I would describe the behavior as novelty-seeking.

While the study classifies it as exploration and claims an intrinsic reward that will die out later in life, I would describe the behavior as novelty-seeking. I'd wager that for adults, a game on a screen is just not new enough. But if you'd give adult males a choice of which female to undress, I'm pretty sure they would value "exploration" very highly again. In a similar vain, when smartphones were new, the adult population was very active at buying new ones, comparing, and exploring the market. Now that we've had them for some years, phone upgrades have become a necessity and a lot less exciting. So my theory would be that there is no loss in the intrinsic motivation, there is a loss in the amount of novelty. If that is correct, then our school system is actually very appropriate even for highly intrinsically motivated kids, because they are introduced to new topics and areas of knowledge that are (hopefully) new to them. That also aligns with my personal experience. While I hated getting up early and the concept of sitting in a chair just listening, I was excited about all the different things they showed me. And I liked best the teachers that would mention slightly irrelevant side details just for the fun of it.

stinos 6y ago
But if you'd give adult males a choice of which female to undress, I'm pretty sure they would value "exploration" very highly again Likely, but that's not the same experiment anymore since the sex factor comes into play and living beings are basically programmed to reproduce as much as possible and also with as much variety as possible (maybe oversimplified, but you get the point). So for a smartphone you can talk abut novelty-seeking/exploration (which btw I'm not sure are really different things), but when reproduction comes into play it's a whole different game anymore and it'll alter/override parts of the behavior and it shouldn't be underestimated how string the effectss can be.
- nickelpro 6y ago
  Sure but you're missing OP's point. They're saying that novelty is the fundamental drive behind the observed behavior, not some priority towards "exploration" that children have in greater abundance than adults. The children are seeking pleasure through novelty, and the researchers are interpreting that as exploration. The parent comment illustrates how silly that is, if you substitute something that still holds pleasure for an adult (ie sex), they exhibit the same behavior. The difference between the adult and the child is the adult has the world experience that the trivial game doesn't hold novel (therefore pleasurable) implications for them anymore, not that they don't prioritize "exploration".
  - Chris2048 6y ago
    Given how many adults would board a ship to sail to faraway lands in the past before much was known about the "here be dragons" places, suggests adults still value exploration.
    - lotsofpulp 6y ago
      I am not aware of any good statistics about that, but my assumption is the line level travelers to faraway lands simply didn’t have better economic options. As far as I understand, going out on ships to unknown places was an extremely risky venture with zero luxuries.
    - kazagistar 6y ago
      I dont think that the point was that adults value exploration less, just that the amount of exploration already done reduces the density of novelty in new exploration. Im interested in foreign travel, but not nearly as interested in traveling to a new town in the state I live in, because that town will have less new stuff to do, and much of it will be similar to what I've seen before. This varies from person to person of course (some people don't really care much for travel in the first place, while others find every new town to be interesting and an invigorating adventure) but the general trend is for exploration to reveal less that is novel with experience.
    - watwut 6y ago
      It was quite rare endeavor and they did not done it purely for fun.
cyberlurker 6y ago
Let me just be the one to say your choice of topic for exploration is incredibly cringeworthy in 2020. Also inaccurate for some parts of the adult male population. Use a better example next time.
- kcolford 6y ago
  Maybe you find it cringeworthy, but I find it on topic and very relatable. The role of a speaker is to make their material easy to digest for their audience. For this audience in particular, I would argue that this example is statistically likely to resonate with most of them. So your parent commenter is strongly incentivized to use this example and conduct themselves this way, so of course they did so. I don't think your comment contributes much to the conversation. If anything I feel it stifles the conversation. If you had shared that the parent's comment made you uncomfortable then that is a contribution that we could explore. Instead you decide to decree from the top of your high horse that his speech wasn't acceptable. I don't like what you did one bit, and I think you did it just to make other people uncomfortable and put yourself in a position of power over them.
  - watwut 6y ago
    I think that point was that relevant portion of adult male population spends a lot of time play games on screen, not finding it boring at all. They do find it more then they do porn. In 2020, claiming that "a game on a screen is just not new enough" for adults is highly inaccurate.
    - fxtentacle 6y ago
      While I fully agree with you that there are fantastic games on screens (I'm playing HL Alyx at the moment), I was trying to present an alternative explanation for the study. So we are taking about a game that is easy enough for kids to understand and play reliably. That might make the game used in the study too boring for adults, because they have played similar games in the past, while it is a new experience for the kids.
- ggggtez 6y ago

stinos 6y ago

But if you'd give adult males a choice of which female to undress, I'm pretty sure they would value "exploration" very highly again Likely, but that's not the same experiment anymore since the sex factor comes into play and living beings are basically programmed to reproduce as much as possible and also with as much variety as possible (maybe oversimplified, but you get the point). So for a smartphone you can talk abut novelty-seeking/exploration (which btw I'm not sure are really different things), but when reproduction comes into play it's a whole different game anymore and it'll alter/override parts of the behavior and it shouldn't be underestimated how string the effectss can be.

nickelpro 6y ago
Sure but you're missing OP's point. They're saying that novelty is the fundamental drive behind the observed behavior, not some priority towards "exploration" that children have in greater abundance than adults. The children are seeking pleasure through novelty, and the researchers are interpreting that as exploration. The parent comment illustrates how silly that is, if you substitute something that still holds pleasure for an adult (ie sex), they exhibit the same behavior. The difference between the adult and the child is the adult has the world experience that the trivial game doesn't hold novel (therefore pleasurable) implications for them anymore, not that they don't prioritize "exploration".
- Chris2048 6y ago
  Given how many adults would board a ship to sail to faraway lands in the past before much was known about the "here be dragons" places, suggests adults still value exploration.
  - lotsofpulp 6y ago
    I am not aware of any good statistics about that, but my assumption is the line level travelers to faraway lands simply didn’t have better economic options. As far as I understand, going out on ships to unknown places was an extremely risky venture with zero luxuries.
  - kazagistar 6y ago
    I dont think that the point was that adults value exploration less, just that the amount of exploration already done reduces the density of novelty in new exploration. Im interested in foreign travel, but not nearly as interested in traveling to a new town in the state I live in, because that town will have less new stuff to do, and much of it will be similar to what I've seen before. This varies from person to person of course (some people don't really care much for travel in the first place, while others find every new town to be interesting and an invigorating adventure) but the general trend is for exploration to reveal less that is novel with experience.
  - watwut 6y ago
    It was quite rare endeavor and they did not done it purely for fun.

cyberlurker 6y ago

Let me just be the one to say your choice of topic for exploration is incredibly cringeworthy in 2020. Also inaccurate for some parts of the adult male population. Use a better example next time.

kcolford 6y ago
Maybe you find it cringeworthy, but I find it on topic and very relatable. The role of a speaker is to make their material easy to digest for their audience. For this audience in particular, I would argue that this example is statistically likely to resonate with most of them. So your parent commenter is strongly incentivized to use this example and conduct themselves this way, so of course they did so. I don't think your comment contributes much to the conversation. If anything I feel it stifles the conversation. If you had shared that the parent's comment made you uncomfortable then that is a contribution that we could explore. Instead you decide to decree from the top of your high horse that his speech wasn't acceptable. I don't like what you did one bit, and I think you did it just to make other people uncomfortable and put yourself in a position of power over them.
- watwut 6y ago
  I think that point was that relevant portion of adult male population spends a lot of time play games on screen, not finding it boring at all. They do find it more then they do porn. In 2020, claiming that "a game on a screen is just not new enough" for adults is highly inaccurate.
  - fxtentacle 6y ago
    While I fully agree with you that there are fantastic games on screens (I'm playing HL Alyx at the moment), I was trying to present an alternative explanation for the study. So we are taking about a game that is easy enough for kids to understand and play reliably. That might make the game used in the study too boring for adults, because they have played similar games in the past, while it is a new experience for the kids.
ggggtez 6y ago