No. 131 · Work · Human Nature and Judgement
Conditioning
A signal paired often with something that matters comes to trigger the feeling alone.
In the Almanac
“Little Albert”, 1920 · “Singapore Airlines”, 1990s
Both stories in full, three ways to use it and where it misleads.
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Questions
What is Conditioning?
Conditioning is how we learn to link a cue with a response. Little Albert learned to fear a white rat paired with a loud noise, and frequent flyers reportedly linked Singapore Airlines’ scented towels with being looked after.
How do you use Conditioning?
Use it to build habits by pairing something you enjoy with something you want to do more. Keep places and cues clean, like the bed for rest, and notice when apps and brands are training cravings into you.
When does Conditioning matter?
Conditioning is one of the 43 mental models for work, the situations where you ask: How do I get the right things done? Within that, it belongs to “Getting started and keeping going”, alongside Activation Energy, Catalysts and Compounding Effect.
What is an example of Conditioning?
Two stories show it at work: Little Albert (1920) and Singapore Airlines (1990s). Both are told in full in The Mental Models Daily Almanac, which has two stories for each of its 365 models.
Which mental models are related to Conditioning?
Dopamine Loop, Nudging and Dark Patterns. Conditioning itself comes from human nature and judgement.