Lately I've been thinking about how modern life ramps ups the novelty seeking drive. From a young age, our brains have been wired by complexities just like rats in cage with lots of toys and tunnels to run through. On one end of the spectrum boredom (and other associated feelings) can come up when life is lacking in novelty, but on the other end of the spectrum too much novelty seeking can create unpleasant consequences. And each person needs to find the level that feels good and works for them.
Here are some good articles on the subject (a brief excerpt follow each article link):
- Having novelty in your life can boost your memory and creativity.
- Novelty can increase your sense of happiness.
- Small, intentional changes can make a difference.
Have you ever found yourself stuck in a rut, going through the motions of the same daily routine? Maybe it's the way you've set up your life. It’s comforting, in a way—you know what to expect, and the familiarity can be soothing. Unpredictability can be uncomfortable, and even create some or a lot of anxiety. The same ole, same ole feels a lot safer. But too much predictability can leave us feeling uninspired, restless, or even stuck. Enter novelty: the secret sauce to keeping life vibrant and meaningful. Hang on—before you dismiss this idea, there are benefits to novelty that you may not have thought about. Keep an open mind.
Novelty triggers dopamine release from the ventral tegmental area before any reward is delivered. The brain is not responding to what happened: it is responding to what might happen. Wolfram Schultz’s landmark research at the University of Fribourg established that dopamine neurons fire at the moment of surprise, not the moment of gratification, with peak signaling occurring when prediction error, the gap between what was expected and what arrived, is largest. That anticipatory signal is powerful, indiscriminate, and the biological basis of both creative innovation and compulsive restlessness. In my practice, I consistently observe a paradox: the same dopamine-driven circuit that makes someone an exceptional innovator also makes sustained commitment feel neurologically aversive. The brain that chases novelty is not broken. The question is whether you are directing the circuit or it is directing you.
The following is somewhat related (but a word of caution...as it is about lab rats).
While we can't directly ask rats whether they like to drive, we devised a behavioural test to assess their motivation to drive. This time, instead of only giving rats the option of driving to the Froot Loop tree, they could also make a shorter journey on foot – or paw, in this case.
Surprisingly, two of the three rats chose to take the less efficient path of turning away from the reward and running to the car to drive to their Froot Loop destination. This response suggests that the rats enjoy both the journey and the rewarding destination.