The psychology behind the repetition of anything makes us reach the ‘hook’ point

Repetition is an important aspect of our daily lives. All of us repeat certain things on a daily basis. But do you ever wonder what repetition can do to our brain? Repetition is a superpower possessed by us humans, and upon a conscious realization of this power, we can perform wonders. As a matter of fact, subconsciously all of us are witty and clever enough, and we sometimes, use this power unknowingly. Here are some interesting examples for you to check out:

The Nagging Child, The Nagging Spouse (the legendary icon)

Most children are evil enough (no offence) to know that if they repeat a request often enough to their parents, their parents will eventually give in. Some of us never outgrow this habit of repetitive persuasion, only to become the nagging spouse, the extra-cheesy and sweet-slash-extra-pathetic and annoying, yet legendary icon.

I know how to train my dog!

Ivan Pavlov, a Russian physiologist, discovered a way with his dogs, a way to condition them by the repetition of a cue or a trigger and connecting it with a selected action. This can be a colour, a shape, a tune or a host of other things.

Advertisers work on the same principle.  Yep, that’s right. Humans are no better than dogs.

The brutal purpose behind the consistent repetition of adverts-in almost every single place inside the print and the electronic media world-is to make us psychologically function like dogs. Sounds harsh, but it’s true.

What I mean to say is what the advertisers want is that when we go to the market, the feeling or the thoughts that were evoked upon repeatedly seeing a particular advert, gets revoked upon seeing the product. This happens because the advert is repeated to our brain multiple times, and we begin to associate the feelings that aroused from a particular emotion, theme, colour, shape, tune or story that was present in the ad, with the product.

Some music; and some dance baby!

The technique of using repetition and pattern making to our advantage is often used by music-makers and dancers. Beats, stanzas, steps-all of it-is repeated in almost all forms of dance and music. And the audience always loves it, because our brain is a crazy lover of patterns and of the concept of being in a routine. Also, the repetition in music and dance has a hypnotic effect on us, that is the only reason why we feel ‘lost’ and go in a trance-like state when we’re in the middle of listening to our favourite tune or slow dancing with our beloved partner.

Back to School: Time to study the same thing...again.

Schools and educational institutions use the principle of repetition by teaching or testing the same topic more than once. Students themselves are willing to study a topic more than once, because they feel that it would help in better retention and would last longer in their memory.

‘Practice makes perfect’

The age-old phrase ‘Practice makes perfect’ emphasis on nothing but the significance of repetitive practice. If we repeatedly practice a particular skill or activity, our brains get used to it. For example-walking in heels-an activity that needs to be practiced before we can get good at it. (At least I think it does.) So basically, when we repeatedly practice something, our brain gets used to it, and we sometimes get good at it, which leads to self-motivation and further persuasion to continue that practice. That is how we develop hobbies.

The basic principle behind repetition, how it works and why it is so effective is that repetition leads to familiarity, which makes that repetitive pattern more understandable or known to our brain, which leads to the embedment of the pattern inside us. Because of that, we tend to either like or appreciate that pattern; or we are simply unconsciously convinced or persuaded to follow the pattern in the future. Repetition always leads to more liking than contempt. That is why the repetition of a particular pattern can make us feel ‘hooked’ to that pattern.

Those who are consciously aware of what repetition can do, can use it to their advantage. Pretty interesting, right?

 Copyright © Upasana Goyal 2016