The constant exposure to visual and sound signals deeply shapes our behaviors, often without us being aware of it. In our hyperconnected societies, this phenomenon feeds an increasing concern around certain digital uses. What we thought clean of humans nevertheless seems to overcome our species. A recent experience conducted on small primates reveals an unexpected scenario, where dependence on screens manifests itself without the need for Tiktok, or even a reward.
Repeated several times a week for two months, this device has made it possible to model a new learned behavior in eight monkeys. The latter spontaneously tapped the screen to trigger visual and sound stimuli, in a ritual of interaction which had nothing natural. Experience, described in the International Journal of Comparative Psychology by Kiyoshi Ando and his team, did not aim to compare frontally primate and human, but to test a finer idea. Can we induce repeated behavior simply by sensory stimuli, without recourse to a material reward like food?
Dependence on screens observed without food reward
The study takes an unexpected turn when an extinction test is introduced. At this point, the videos no longer trigger either enlargement or sound, simply leaving the screen becoming black after each contact. We could have expected a rapid drop in the keys. This was the case with three of the seven ouistitis tested. But for four others, the behavior persisted, almost unchanged. In other words, they continued to touch the screen even in the absence of any noticeable return.
This result intrigues. He suggests that the simple visual change – the transition from an active screen to a black surface – was enough to maintain the act of touching. Motivation therefore did not come from a reward in the classic sense, but from an expectation, or from an early response to the slightest change. Iflscience, who commented on this study, sees it as a parallel with our digital behavior. Scroller for no reason, to open an application without real objective, or react to the slightest movement of the screen. These well -known reflexes are now taking on a new meaning. Indeed, this experience carried out in animals seems to shed new light on these daily behaviors.
A window to the brain mechanisms of addiction
If the Ouistitis also react to a chain of purely sensory stimuli, it is because their brain, like that of humans, treats these changes as signals with attention or alert. Their prefrontal cortex, although simpler than ours, has a structure capable of integrating conditional behavioral sequences. This is what makes this species an increasingly popular study model in neuroscience.
Unlike conventional approaches focused on food or drug reward, this study therefore opens an unexplored path. That of behavioral addiction triggered by sensory stimulation alone. It joins the observations already formulated in other species, such as the rat or the macaque, but with an unprecedented refinement. She also questions our habits in front of screens. It would not only be the content, but the simple fact of triggering a reaction – even a minimal – which would be enough to maintain the gesture.
This may be where the key resides. The attraction for screens, in humans as in Ouistiti, would not always be due to rewarding or informative content. It could be based on a more primitive mechanics, where each image change, each vibration or blinking becomes a form of reinforcement in itself. A discreet, but powerful mechanism that shapes our routines without our being fully aware of it.
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