Do We Value More What We Achieve With A Lot Of Effort?
I am going to tell you about an experiment carried out with children a few years ago.
The procedure consisted of the following: two toys (robots, for example, that made sounds and flashed lights) were placed in view of a baby, at a safe distance. Reaching the first robot was hindered by a transparent acrylic barrier, which allowed the toy to be seen, but made it difficult to touch it. The arrival to the second robot was not hindered in any way.
As irrational as it may seem, Most of the babies went as fast as they could to the first robot, and tried to grab it by trying to get over the fence The most striking thing about the matter was that the higher the barrier that separated the babies from the toy, the faster they crawled and the more energy they invested in trying to touch the robot.
Strangely enough, babies showed a much stronger preference for toys that were difficult to reach.
This is just one example of a unique phenomenon that characterizes human beings and conditions their behavior from the very cradle: We react vehemently, resisting, to everything that hinders or limits our freedoms. personal and decision-making capacity. We like to be in control, or at least, think we are.
The case of celebrities as something unattainable
Another good example is the stars of show business.
The truth is that most famous actors and actresses are, on average, neither more beautiful nor more intelligent than the average person walking down the street. The most beautiful women, I know, and I can speak of this through the simple authority that being a man confers on me, do not appear in fashion magazines or star in soap operas on television. On the contrary, I have seen them on public transport, in the neighborhood supermarket, and walking the dog in the square.
If we are desperate to ask for an autograph or to take a photo with the athlete of the moment who happens to be sitting at the next table at the restaurant we went to for dinner on Saturday night, or if we have lustful romances in our imaginations with the catwalk model of the moment is, to a large extent, because we perceive them as unique in their kind, and fundamentally unattainable Yes, just like babies saw toy robots behind the fence.
The Bible says that at the time of creation itself, even Adam and Eve put their foot in it up to their necks, biased (and blinded) by the possibility of accessing the inaccessible. The couple of lovebirds could eat all the bushes that populated the lavish paradise, except the forbidden fruit. The rule was simple, clear and forceful; did not give rise to further interpretations.
Well, of all the trees and apples available in the vastness of the divine meadow, Which one did you find most appealing first? Precisely, the only one that had been prohibited to them
The same thing happens today with the pure versions of any director of the seventh art, without the cuts imposed by the film production company, what is commonly known as an “extended version.” The film that supposedly escapes the censorship that has been exercised on the filmmaker’s original work is usually presented with a certain air of mystique and exclusivity, is sold separately on DVD, and is always much more desirable by the general public.
Self-censorship is a phenomenon that many groups and political parties use to draw attention to the message that they wish to transmit.
Instead of seeking mass dissemination of their proposals, they try to sell the idea of censorship exercised by the authorities or the government in power. “They want to silence us” and “they don’t want us to tell the truth” are characteristic supposedly anti-advertising phrases that exploit the typical human desire to obtain what is forbidden to them.
Everyone who knows me knows that I am a die-hard fan of “The Simpsons.” There is an episode in which the police chief has to respond to an emergency. He is in his house, taking care of his son, if I remember correctly. Given the impossibility of leaving him under adult supervision; Before leaving he seriously warns the little boy that in his absence he can play with all the toys he wants, but that under no circumstances open the “mysterious closet of forbidden secrets” Well, if the reader friend has not seen the episode or is not a fan of the series, he will already be imagining where the boy hurriedly went as soon as the boss crossed the threshold of the door.
The case of the Argentine crisis and the corralito
Those who live in Argentina and are of a certain age will remember the world-famous “corralito” that was decreed in 2001 by the then Minister of Economy.
This politician ordered on the national network that from that moment on, all those inhabitants who had personal savings in the banks could only withdraw the absurd figure of $250 per week for any use they wanted to give to that money. What happened next went around the world.
The people, who a week before had no intention of withdrawing their money from the bank, He suddenly felt the urgent need to do so The measure triggered true collective desperation among the population to have in their own hands what legitimately belonged to them.
Social protests accumulated and chaos took over the streets. In a few days, the president of the nation had to resign, harassed and overwhelmed by a social outbreak that ended with several deaths and dozens of injuries.
Once the crisis of that time was over, many years later, a different government in charge in the Argentine state dictated severe restrictions on the purchase of foreign currency, mainly dollars and euros, in what ended up being called “exchange stocks.”
Buying tickets as if there were no tomorrow
Until that moment, any ordinary citizen was free to acquire US or European currency at any bank without further requirements or conditions. Since the establishment of the stocks, The prohibition to buy dollars was practically total, with which this strange psychological phenomenon appeared back on stage.
With the greenish bills restricted to almost everyone, they became the figurine that was difficult to obtain, which brought with it not only severe complications for the local economy, but also the proliferation of clandestine currency exchange houses everywhere and the establishment of a parallel market that was soon out of control.
More than once I have seriously thought about the possibility of mailing a copy of this article to the Casa Rosada. Or offer them psychological counseling. I can’t believe that after full years of first hand experience, they keep making the same stupid mistakes over and over again.
As a counterpart, those who did do things well in the 80s were the national rock band “Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota”. They applied the concept that we are here discussing today perfectly, and to their own benefit.
First of all, Los Redonditos gave live concerts very sporadically. At most, they did it only once a year, which, thanks to the scarcity of supply, ensured that the recitals were always crowded.
As a corollary, they appeared in points well away from Buenos Aires, where the largest concentration of the public that followed them was found. Like the acrylic barriers that made it difficult for babies to touch the toy, Los Redonditos gave their concerts in La Plata, Mendoza, and even Uruguay ensuring difficult access for a large part of its fans and consequently a greater degree of interest for its followers.
Surely some reader is thinking that in reality the Redonditos presented their shows in Uruguay for the approval of the Uruguayan public. Well no. That is a rather naive point of view on the matter and in truth, If there is something that the band members and their production never sinned about, it was naivety
Concluding
Things are more desirable and valuable to us to the extent that we cannot have them, and less desirable and valuable to us the greater their perceived character of ordinary, common and easily accessible.
And this has been true since the very origins of humanity, since the time of the caves, a context in which all the basic elements we needed to survive childhood, reach adulthood and be able to reproduce were scarce.
Nowadays, practically everything that was previously difficult to obtain, we can request by delivery in our own home. However, we continue to make decisions based on an unconscious mental premise, and that leads us to believe that what is achieved with effort, or has a certain degree of exclusivity is more important or valuable to us, and we want it at all costs.
