Four principles to understand human behavior

First principle: we do not seek survival, but what feels like survival.

This principle explains self-harm, addictions, toxic relationships, and more.

Of course, often, the actions that feel like survival (such as eating) do help us survive. But sometimes they don't. For example, eating 3 sugary donuts in a go lowers our survival, and yet it feels like survival, so we do it anyway.

This principle goes against most of what we are taught (really? we do not seek survival?). And yet, our actions are enacted by a part of the brain that doesn't have the capacity to think about the long-term implications of our actions; it just feels. That's the real process.

Neurologically, it is the actions whose result feels like survival that get reinforced in our brain. Our analytical mind, which is the one that can figure out whether an action is self-harm, has little say in the process.

SECOND PRINCIPLE

We don't seek happiness, but what makes us feel happy.

In the gap between the two lies our sadness.

This principle is similar to the first one. Behavior is mediated by feeling. We do things based on how they make us feel, not based on what they do for us.

THIRD PRINCIPLE

Our brain didn't evolve to perceive correctly, but to act correctly. Hence biases.

(Only recently, the environment – school, job recruiters – selected us based on whether we are right. For millions of years, the environment selected us based on our actions.)

This of course doesn't mean that our perception isn't often right. It means that we evolved a perception as a tool to take the right actions to survive (sometimes, this corresponds with a perception that sees the world correctly for what it is, but it isn't a requirement).

FOURTH PRINCIPLE

We didn't adapt for our environment, but for our ancestors'.

The implication: the previous 3 principles backfire when we are exposed to items we didn't have the chance to adapt to. For example, hyper-sugary food or sedentary careers.

Much of irrationality is the expressions of behaviors that would be rational in the environments we evolved in, as a species.

These principles, and many more, are discussed in detail, with examples and implications, in my book "The Control Heuristic" (link).