PDA

View Full Version : Pavlov and Power Tools



Stephen Tashiro
05-15-2009, 8:33 PM
When I began to wear ear protectors, I became much more eager to use power tools. Thinking about why this happened, it makes sense. The loud noise of a tool is a kind of "punishment". Even if you tell yourself you enjoy using loud tools, you are getting that mild punishment every time you do so. It is a Pavlovian conditioning not to use tools. I think this theory applies to any slightly disagreeable sensation associated with a task. For example the unpleasant stiffness of the tensioning levers on many belt sanders is a kind of punishment associated with changing the belt. It can lead to convincing yourself that you might as well use 100 grit for everything. The seemingly minor pleasant or unpleasant sensations associated with a certain kind of work can have a big effect on your attitude toward it as time passes.

I think this might explain the phenomenon of "burn out". A person dedicates himself to some task that he likes. To accomplish it, he works long hours, works when tired, forces himself to .keep working. All these sensations are little punishments. So he gets Pavlovian conditioning to avoid the work. Other things in life suddenly become much more interesting.

Jim Rimmer
05-15-2009, 10:35 PM
Interesting theory. So, if I do something I like to much, I'll grow to not like it. And, if I like doing something but there is something unpleasant about it, I might avoid it but if I can eliminate the unpleasantness I will do it more and enjoy it. And perhaps even drool while I do it? ;)

Walt Nicholson
05-15-2009, 10:44 PM
There is a definite, documented correlation between power tools and me. Every time I see a new tool that I don't have, I start to drool uncontrollably. :D

Stephen Tashiro
05-15-2009, 10:54 PM
I'm not saying that you'll begin to dislike all the things that you like to do. I'm saying that if some of the things you like to do involve minor punishments, even small ones that you hardly pay attention to, you will like gradually like to do those things less.

Another example (by hearsay, since I haven't shot a gun in years): people who like to shoot and do only live fire are training themselves to associate pulling the trigger with a loud noise and some recoil. I've read shooting books that claim that if you want to train yourself to squeeze the trigger smoothly, you have to do "dry snapping" to break the Pavlovian conditioning that is teaching your body to anticipate the noise and force that comes after the trigger pull.

John Schreiber
05-16-2009, 12:25 AM
I used to use a lot of operant and Pavlovian conditioning but I am not up to date. I think the best conclusion we could draw which relates to woodworking is: if we choose to work wood, when there are other options, that is because woodworking is rewarding for us. Completely common sense and unremarkable, but it is considered a law for determining reinforcers.

We still use power saws, because we like cut wood, more than we dislike loud noises. We also find that we can use hearing protection to decrease the punisher of loud noises while maintaining the reward of cut wood.

I also remember that when I first got hearing protection, I was able to cut a straighter line with my circular saw because I was more willing to take my time.

Burt Alcantara
05-16-2009, 8:43 AM
Well, situation where this is 100% not the case is shooting. Shooting a handgun is holding an explosive device in your hand. The noise can and does cause permanent deafness. But millions of people take up shooting as a recreational sport.

Some rifles are so loud that they are painful even double plugged. These guns are often shot without hearing protection in the field.

Then again, look at rock and roll. The musicians and the crowds are all deaf. They don't seem to mind (until they hit 40...what?...waddya say?).

Stephen Tashiro
05-17-2009, 1:33 PM
In hobbies, I think the most powerful motivator that counteracts (negative) Pavlovian conditioning is daydreaming or vivid imagination. There is certainly evidence on this forum that many woodworkers take great joy in making things to give to other people. The hours of labor are probably accompanied by imagining the delight that the recipient will show. I haven't read the books "Psychocybernetics" or "The Gabriel Method", but I gather they are based on the idea that vividly imagined incidents can affect on the mind as much as actual incidents. And when you have daydreamed enough projects to justify buying a new tool the mission is accomplished. You don't really have to carry them out.