A new paradigm for psychology research (with Slime Mold Time Mold)

1. Seek Mechanical Paradigms

To make progress in understanding complex systems like the mind, focus on identifying specific “entities” (building blocks) and “rules” (how they interact), moving beyond abstract concepts.

2. Apply Cybernetic Thinking

Analyze psychological phenomena by asking about set points, what is being controlled, and feedback rates, which generates specific, testable research questions.

3. Prioritize Meaningful Research Questions

When conducting or evaluating psychological research, emphasize asking “meaningful” questions grounded in a mechanical paradigm over solely focusing on statistical rigor or methodological correctness.

4. Question Abstract Psychological Concepts

Critically evaluate psychological concepts (like the Big Five personality traits) by asking if they describe underlying mechanisms with entities and rules, or if they are merely abstract, superficial observations.

5. Understand Set Point Defense

Recognize that your body’s “governors” vigorously defend set points (e.g., body weight). Attempts to drastically change these will be met with physiological and behavioral resistance, such as sluggishness or reduced energy output.

6. Emotions as Error Signals

Interpret emotions like anger and fear as “error signals” that indicate when a specific aspect of your life is out of alignment or control, prompting corrective action.

7. Happiness Calibrates Explore/Exploit

Understand happiness as a signal that calibrates “explore versus exploit” behavior. High happiness suggests current strategies are effective, while low happiness indicates a need to explore new approaches.

8. Depression: Blocked Value Creation

Conceptualize depression as a state arising from the perceived inability to create or obtain things of value. This suggests that identifying and pursuing avenues for value creation can be a key to overcoming it.

9. Behavioral Activation for Depression

If experiencing depression, actively engage in “behavioral activation” by performing tasks you typically find meaningful, valuable, or pleasurable to help jumpstart motivation and recovery.

10. Treat Mental Health via Drives

To develop more precise and effective treatments for mental health conditions like depression and addiction, strive for a deeper, mechanical understanding of the fundamental human drives and their dysregulation.

11. Simulate Mind with Software

To advance understanding of the mind, build specific computational models (e.g., software simulations) of how it works. Use these models to identify points of disagreement between theories and design experiments to test those discrepancies.

12. Focus on Fundamental Questions

Direct research efforts towards “fundamental questions” in psychology, such as identifying the complete list of human drives, their specific parameters, and developing methods to measure them, as these are foundational for scientific progress.

13. Personality from Governor Parameters

View individual personality differences as the sum of varying parameters (e.g., set points, sensitivity) across a person’s many psychological governors, offering a highly dimensional model.

14. Hunger: Multiple Nutrient Drives

Recognize that hunger is not a single drive but a complex system of multiple “governors” for different nutrients, explaining specific cravings and phenomena like the “dessert stomach.”

15. Anger as Social Control Error

Consider anger as an error signal for a “social control” governor. When you feel a lack of control in a social situation, anger arises, prompting actions to regain that control.

16. Happiness Reinforces Learning

Consider happiness as a signal that reinforces learning, particularly when a new and effective strategy or behavior is successfully implemented, aiding its storage in memory.

17. Research Specific Nutritional Drives

To understand specific nutritional drives, design studies to test if a deficiency in a particular nutrient (e.g., vitamin C) leads to active seeking of that nutrient.