Healthcare (Commonwealth Union) – Researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have discovered the reason some individuals continue engaging in harmful behaviors—even after finding out their mistakes.
Recent research led by Dr. Philip Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel from UNSW Sydney showed that, for a small subset of individuals, the issue is not a lack of motivation or ability, but rather a subtle yet ongoing dissassosiation between their actions and the resulting consequences.
Published recently in Nature Communications Psychology, the paper describes a straightforward online learning game where participants had to make choices that either resulted in rewards or penalties. The researchers identified three distinct behavioral patterns that influenced whether participants ended up successful or unsuccessful.
The first group, known as the Sensitives, recognized which choices led to negative outcomes made changes to their behavior. The second group, known as the Unawares, failed at the start to understand the consequences but changed their strategies once their mistakes were shown. The final group—and the primary focus of the study—were the Compulsives, who repeatedly made poor decisions despite being clearly shown where their approach was flawed.
“We found that some people just don’t learn from experience,” explained Dr Jean-Richard-dit- Bressel. “Even when they’re motivated to avoid harm and are paying attention, they fail to realise their own behaviour is causing the problem.”
In the experiment, players had to choose between two planets. Each choice led to a spaceship that either rewarded them with points or unexpectedly deducted all the points they had collected. The penalty didn’t happen every time, but after several rounds of trial and error, the more perceptive players—dubbed the Sensitives—figured out that only one planet was linked to the loss and avoided it in future turns. In contrast, the Unawares and Compulsives were unable to connect the planet to the negative outcome, so they kept selecting it and continued to suffer random losses.
Eventually, the researchers disclosed to all players which planet was responsible for the penalties and which one was safe.
Dr. Jean-Richard-dit-Bressel indicated that they essentially told them, this specific action causes the bad result, and the other one does not. He pointed out that most participants who had previously made poor choices adjusted their behaviour right away, however a few still did not.
The research is a continuation from a previous study, which went beyond Australia reaching a wider audience.
This was done by an extension beyond Australian psychology students bringing in a diverse world population from 24 countries, with differences in age, background, and life experiences. Findings showed consistent behavioral profiles across cultures and demographics. Around 26% were noted as Sensitives, 47% as Unawares, and 27% as Compulsives, with minor variations attributed to older participants, who tended to exhibit Compulsive behavior which may have been as a result of declining cognitive flexibility as they got older.
Participants who got back after six months largely kept their original behavioral profiles, which may point to the fact that traits are stable and persistent, akin to personality types. The study also revealed that Compulsives were not behaving on autopilot but had awareness of their strategies, even when those strategies were ineffective. This indicates a potential cognitive challenge in integrating new knowledge to minimize adverse outcomes, as individuals often failed to adjust their actions despite understanding the risks.
Researchers pointed out that the findings of this research carry significant consequences for public health communication strategies. Numerous initiatives targeted at promoting well-being—like those addressing smoking, alcohol consumption, nutrition, or financial risks—often take place under the assumption that merely disseminating information will bring about behavioral changes. However, this study shows for certain individuals, knowledge alone may not be sufficient to bring results.
