Why Minnows May Sometimes Feel Like Test Subjects

Being on Steemit for a couple months now, I'm starting to notice how psychology ties into the desire to keep on posting.

Ever learn about reinforcement schedules? It's basically the manner in which somebody rewards a test subject for completing tasks correctly. A continuous reinforcement schedule is where the subject of a learning experiment, let's say a mouse, for instance, gets rewarded with a nice morsel of cheese every time he completes a maze or any task correctly. In Steemit terms, this would mean every time we complete an effective post, we get rewarded with a hefty Steem award. But of course, only whales have this reinforcement schedule.

But what sort of reinforcement schedule is a concussed minnow like me on? Well the vast majority of my posts so far have been quite far from winner winner, chicken dinners.

But I have had a few $25 payouts and one big hit recently with over $150 Steem payout, so I think there are two reinforcement schedules that could fit the bill for me:

1. Variable ratio reinforcement schedules. In variable ratio, you get a reward after a varied amount of tasks completed correctly. For the mouse, maybe he completes the maze and gets rewarded after he does it 5 times, and then again after he does it 3 times, then after he does it 14 times, etc, with a variable ratio. For Steemit, it would mean posting and kind of randomly getting nice rewards after variable amount of posts. That kind of seems to apply to me, because sometimes even my good content gets left in the cold unless I happen to get anointed by the Steemit Gods and get big payout every now and again.

2. Variable interval reinforcement schedules. In this type of reinforcement pattern, instead of a varied amount of tasks completed that dictates reward, it's varied amount of time. So for the mouse, he would just happen to get some cheese after 30 minutes, then after 8 hours, then after 5 minutes, the point being the intervals of time between rewards varies. It also kind of feels like that as a Steemit minnow.

I think the variable-ratio reinforcement schedule applies more accurately. Why? Well first of all, check out this chart:

As you can see, variable ratio schedules, the kind I think I'm on literally right now, are the ones that achieve the highest amount of responses in the lowest amount of time. Essentially that means that they are very effective for learning. And what am I doing as a Steemian? I'm learning to post good content. And I've felt pretty addicted lately. It may just be that minnows like me who occasionally get a nice payout are even more addicted to this business than the whales who get continuously awarded!

At this point I'm getting pretty confused about what animal best represents me. Is it a minnow, a chicken, a mouse......a fucking LION?

I'm not sure, but either way, I'm definitely feeling the psychological effects that rewards can have on the mind.