SEMESTER 1.5: Supernormal Stimuli

I have been particularly interested in the psychological aspect of consumerism, which taps into the human desire of a 'craving for novelty'. This has led me to read around the topic of novelty, and more specifically trying to understand why we are accumulating more and more stuff - as a byproduct of consumerism. I believe that we end up seeking constant novelty as the average stimuli is not enough.

The concept of supernormal stimuli has enormous power to illuminate the alarming disconnect between human instinct and our created environment. It is a driving force in many of today's pressing problems, including obesity, our addiction to TV and video games, violent wars etc.

- Diedre Barrett in the Huffington Post

Niko Tinbergen, a biologist who specialised in ethology, coined the term 'Supernormal Stimuli' after conducting several experiments with animals in which he would notice that they would react differently when certain stimuli are exaggerated, to the point that they would ignore their natural instincts. For example, amplifying the colour on a scorned male swallow led to females wanting to mate him or exaggerated imitations of eggs being better cared for than real eggs. Diedre Barrett, an evolutionary psychologist, has taken this concept of 'Supernormal Stimuli' and specifically observed this as a phenomenon within human beings. Through culture, the internet and certain environments, she believes that we have been creating supernormal stimuli. She specifically specialises in observing how 'Junk Food' has become a supernormal stimuli, in that, we have managed to create foods with unprecedented high sugar and salt content, comparatively to natural foods, which are addictive and can override our desire for the 'average' stimuli of natural foods. However, she also observes other areas such as modern warfare, territories, borders, pornography, the internet, body image and toys. Stuart McMillen's comic illustrates the concept quite well.

Consumerism as Supernormal Stimuli

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Consumerism has led us to having an excess of stuff. This excess is not always utilised, yet we always desire the more and the new. I believe that consumerism, and our accumulation of unutilised stuff, is an expression of supernormal stimuli - as naturally we should be utilising objects that we need and would use regularly - however, we have created a culture in which it is acceptable to have excess even if it is not utilised.

Man-made imitations have wreaked havoc even on how we understand ourselves

Previously we would have taken pride in each object we owned. We may still do with certain items, such as a sentimental item or expensive technology. But items such as clothing, which once were handcrafted by someone you knew, would have been saved up for and hard-to-come-by have now become mass-produced, cheap and detached from the producer; leading to an accumulation of stuff. To put things into perspective, in the UK, people perceive that they have not worn 37% of their clothing in their wardrobe in the last 12 months. However, research figures state that it can be as high as 73% that is not utilised. I believe this goes further than clothing, as it also affects media, food, crafts, DIY, books and most categories of items we possess. I also believe that this notion of supernormal stimuli goes deeper than purely observing an accumulation of stuff, but it can also be done so with knowledge, human relationships and the internet.

Stuart McMillen's comic on 'Amusing ourselves to Death'

Internet & Digital Environments as Supernormal Stimuli

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Attention-sapping distractions driven by the internet have been linked to supernromal stimuli. This notion is expressed in Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death. Although the book was written in the 80s, the principles can be transferred now to the internet age and our consumerist culture. I would like to develop further a theory around the digital environment and supernormal stimuli. In one way, the internet is opposite to the physical in that, instead of underutilisation, the internet can be overutilised and we have an excess of information that is not utilised in the best way, whether it may be measured by time, quality or content.

The internet has allowed for us to control and engage in almost anything. Our focus can be deteriorated (initially I did think that our attention spans are decreasing, but after research this may not be the case, but it is a possibility). We believe we can be experts in many things, and we can consume more information than ever before.

I would like to develop a further hypothesis around this concept through the digital environments of DS1, and conducting further research around the digital environments. I would then like to translate the digital environment concept into a built environment.

Concluding thoughts...

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Supernormal stimuli is not all doom and gloom, however. Once we are aware of what is going on around us, we can choose to act. We can create an alternative narrative and we can regain ownership over our own stuff, our thoughts and our actions. This takes active choices and it may go against the grain, but it is possible. What would a built environment look like that counters supernormal stimuli? Maybe we'll find out by the end of semseter two...

If you're interested in finding out more about the theory of supernormal stimuli, have a watch of Diedre Barrett's talk below: