
Originally Posted by
seagypsy

Originally Posted by
scoobydoo1

Originally Posted by
sculptor
lets focus on the "like" feature: Did the people who created it intend it as a conditioning device, or was this an accidental outcome of something intended to make people happier?
A conditioning device for what purpose?
I would guess to encourage conformity. Humans normally have a desire to fit in and be accepted. When we get positive reinforcement (social approval in the form of a public "like") we tend to want more and will post in whatever fashion that elicited that like before.
This passive form of reward system will reinforce conformity to popular practices. About the closest thing to a dislike someone can give is to like a post that attacks the "offensive" member's character or ideas. A practice not uncommon on this forum.
Odd, I neither see the
Like feature as a reward nor conditioning device. And I pretty much agree with
adelady in that it enables us to acknowledge in a non-verbal way that we agree with a particular post without witnessing physical cues such as nodding in agreement. Although at times I have used it to represent me liking something that was witty and/or funny in the absence of physically smiling so that the other party knows it.
On the surface, there are two parts to what
sculptor is proposing; specific to forum behaviour as hinted in the thread title. Firstly, that receiving a
Like parallels a reward system rather than an acknowledgement and/or agreement notifier on a platform that limits the possibly of physical cues we usually detect in person-to-person interaction. Secondly, in receiving a
Like may be intended by the sender as a reward (or perceived as a reward by the receiver) as some form of positive reinforcement to conform to the individual/collective standards of the locale. While I have my doubts that it is the case, we can perhaps look into the process in each phase and determine if that is in-fact the case.
One of the reasons why I've asked
sculptor in
post #7 whether he had experienced this was because he hasn't really conformed to anyone's standards other than his own. And having received over seven hundred
Likes to date, with over three thousand posts, and over the course of nineteen months hasn't changed that.
There are over five hundred days in nineteen months, and even if we take into account the number of
Likes received peaks and troughs in a non-uniform way when distributed over the total number of days + number of posts, it wouldn't appear to have changed anything. That is even neglecting to address whether there is validity in assuming the senders of
Likes gave them (the
Likes) to make him (both intentionally and unintentionally) feel part of the community and to conform to the standards of the sender; or the larger community.
A secondary question is were the
Likes that sculptor himself have given out (over eight hundred of them) to achieve what he is proposing; or more in the manner and purpose of what
adelady & I have mentioned?