Both positive and negative feedback loops can be used to improve one’s life.
Feedback mechanisms can be applied to biological, mechanical, and natural processes. But for the sake of keeping it precise and simple, we’ll only be talking about psychological feedback systems today.
Let’s explore how to use positive feedback loops to improve your life.
How can we use a positive feedback loop to improve our lives?
If we know that we can use the positive feedback loop to make small, incremental changes for the better, then we can use this mechanism to create a snowball effect to improve our lives at a rapid pace.
For example, if we compliment ourselves if we stop drinking and reward ourselves in the sense of a material reward like for example a present, then we are more likely to repeat this behavior in the future. Thus, it makes us less likely to drink again in the future.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is a feedback loop?
A feedback loop can be defined as a system where outputs are fed back into the system as inputs, affecting the succeeding processes of that system by increasing or decreasing effects.
These mechanisms thus allow us to maintain or move further away from homeostasis.
Common synonyms are feedback system or feedback mechanism.
What is a positive feedback loop?
A positive feedback loop is a self-enduring pattern of investment behavior where the result builds upon and enlarges the initial act, which in turn exacerbates the effects of a small disturbance.
In other words, a change in a given direction causes extra change in the same direction.
What is a negative feedback loop?
A negative feedback loop can be defined as the process of feeding back to the input of a system’s output. As a result, this will turn back the direction of the output. This process will oftentimes, though not always, cause a decrease in function. This pattern happens in response to a stimulus.
In layman’s terms, this means that a negative feedback system that causes a change in a given direction will cause a change in the reversed direction as a result.
This means that the feedback of this particular loop tends to stabilize the system as a whole. Helping it to return to equilibrium is also called homeostasis.
Positive feedback loop examples
Example 1
Let us assume Bob is living a sedentary lifestyle. He’s got a sedentary profession at a desk at work and when he’s home, he’s often found on the couch in front of the TV.
One day, Bob ponders and decides that he wants to make a change for the better. Thus, he decides to go to a gym to work out.
The initial stimulus is working out for the first time. In return, endorphins get released, which can be considered our ‘happiness’ hormone. Furthermore, he gets compliments from other gym members because he started working out and thus, he starts to get more confident and happy with his life.
Because those endorphins get released, and he’s getting compliments from the people surrounding him, he is feeling better about himself, he feels rewarded, and as a result, continues to work out and improve his health and physique.
This means that his initial workout, and consequently the praise he got propelled him further in that same direction of continuing to work out more in the future, and will continue to do so. This is an example of a positive feedback loop at play.
Example 2
Bob enjoys drinking beer a lot. At first, he only drank on the weekends. But since he likes alcohol that much, which is no surprise since it releases endorphins, he started drinking during the week as well.
Not only is he drinking more frequently, but a larger amount as well. That’s the result of getting positive emotions from the alcohol.
This is detrimental to his physical and mental health. Not to mention that he’s gaining a lot of weight as well.
Negative feedback loop examples
Example 1
Let’s use Bob again as an illustration.
Let’s assume Bob is living a sedentary lifestyle. He’s got a sedentary profession at a desk at work and when he’s home, he’s often found on the couch in front of the TV.
One day, Bob ponders and decides that he wants to make a change for the better. Thus, he decides to go to a gym to work out.
The initial stimulus is working out for the first time. But instead of being rewarded, Bob feels like he is being punished because the other gym members are laughing at him. After all, he’s quite overweight and can’t lift as much weight as the rest of the gym goers.
Instead of continuing to work out, Bob gets demotivated and quits working out. Furthermore, he gets so down on himself that he decides to be even less active at home and continues to watch even more TV. This means he effectively got in worse shape than he was before.
This means that despite the initial stimulus to work out and improve his health/physique, he started going in the other direction and thus, got in even worse shape than he already was.
Example 2
Another possible example of a negative feedback system could be giving a person suffering from alcoholism a pill that induces hangover-like symptoms each time he/she drinks to reduce/stop that person from drinking alcohol.
The stimulus is the pill, which induces hangover-like symptoms each time the person suffering from alcoholism drinks alcohol. This will in turn lead to that person drinking less and less alcohol because he/she associates drinking alcohol with feeling sick and having hangover-like symptoms.
That person will then start to develop a decreased desire to drink alcohol in the future because he/she starts to associate alcohol with hangover-like symptoms.
When this process is repeated consistently and for a long enough time, this negative feedback mechanism can effectively be used to stop a person stopping from alcoholism from drinking alcohol.
Final note
Both positive and negative feedback loops can be used to improve one’s life.
We can use both mechanisms to create a snowball effect that improves our lives at a fast pace.
After a while, these systems become habits that make us able to perform them without thinking or putting in conscious effort.