<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class="">
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
<w:UseFELayout/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="276">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment--><p class="MsoNormal">Hi all,</p><p class="MsoNormal">I’m delighted to be included in this conversation, which
I’ve been following with interest as it’s unfolded over the past weeks.</p><p class="MsoNormal">In his opening post Patrick gave a great overview of my work and its bearing on our theme(s), so I’ll get straight to some thoughts, organized by heading (although written
as one stream): </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class="">THE TERM COMPUSLION</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">First, as we consider the term “compulsion” for our own analytic toolboxes, I think it’s worth
recalling its technical meaning in psychiatry, as well as what it’s come to mean
in other domains. Here’s a snippet on that from a footnote in my book on
gambling addiction, with the most relevant bit highlighted: </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">“When
I use the terms “compulsive” or “addicted,” I do so not in a clinical or
diagnostic sense, but in a colloquial, descriptive sense (as do gamblers
themselves), to indicate behavior that has become excessive, out of control,
difficult to stop, and destructive. It should be noted, however, that there are
a number of technical differences among the terms I employ. For instance,
although the group Gamblers Anonymous prefers the term “compulsive,” many
psychiatrists consider this descriptor a misnomer, pointing out that excess
gambling actually has an <i class="">impulsive</i>
structure. <b class="">While compulsions are
characterized by a feeling of being</b> <b class="">compelled
by an external force at odds with one’s own desires, impulses are </b> <b class="">characterized
by an increasing sense of tension or arousal in anticipation of performing</b> </span><b class=""><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">an act, followed by
pleasure, gratification, or a sense of release upon completion. Impulses, in
other words, are “ego-syntonic” (i.e., intentional, goal-oriented) while
compulsions are “ego-dystonic” (involuntary, alien, purposeless).</span></b><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class=""> Given<b class=""> </b>that gambling is an ego-syntonic and
pleasurable activity (at least initially), the<b class=""> </b>original American Psychiatric Association diagnostic task force<b class=""> </b>for pathological gambling decided the
condition was better classified </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">as
an </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">impulse control disorder</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class=""> than a </span><i style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">compulsion</i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class=""> (APA 1980). Some considered that
decision debatable, since gambling typically becomes a problem only at the
point when it feels involuntary and driven. The debate is likely to become obsolete
with the recent decision to rename pathological gambling “disordered gambling”
and to reclassify it as an addiction rather than an impulse control disorder.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal">Second, whatever we take compulsion to describe, I would
(respectfully) hesitate to endorse Murat’s view that we work to “positivize”
the term since I think that would limit our capacities to acknowledge, analyze,
and counter the harms and exploitations that can ride on compulsion. In other
words, we would risk squeezing ethics out of the conversation in that ethics
depends on the possibility of things being good or bad – by which I mean that
interactive technologies can be configured in ways that enable greater or lesser degrees of human flourishing...<o:p class=""></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class="">DESIGN ETHICS</b> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Like Katie, I’m fascinated by the “challenges that
developers face when compulsion is a design value that equates with success.”
Following the publication of my book on slot
machine design and play, I’ve become interested in these challenges as they play out
in the domains of website and mobile app design. In part this interest arose
out of a number of (disconcerting!) invitations I received to engage with Silicon Valley
designers in conversations about technology and habit, addiction, attention
retention, and the like. I found these conversations to be rife with developer
anxiety of the sort Katie spoke about – i.e. how to fulfill professional
directives to ramp up revenue without hooking people into depleting, ethically
dubious loops. </p><p class="MsoNormal">At the Habit Summit, an event in Silicon Valley, I gave a talk on “the dark side of habit” in which I discussed the increasing prevalence (in mobile app and website design) of slot-machine-like features — notably, a turn to game algorithms that expose users to a “drip-feed” / “dribble-pay” / “grind” reward schedule that creates smooth, uninterrupted sessions of absorption (rather than long, suspenseful dry spells leading up to big wins). Designers in the gambling industry talk about game math that players can “recline on, like a comfortable couch”; a similar rhetoric pervades the design of online games like Candy Crush. Such games are so powerful because they’re <i class="">affect modulators</i> – they allow people to rapidly modulate and manage their moods. They’re addictive because the modulation is right there at your fingertips – you’re able to reach out and just start clicking…</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class="">LUDIC LOOPS</b></p><p class="MsoNormal">My use of the phrase “ludic loop” was inspired
by a great piece in <i class="">The Atlantic</i> by
tech writer Alexis Madrigal <span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:
"Helvetica Light"" class="">(</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:
"Times New Roman"" class=""><a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/07/the-machine-zone-this-is-where-you-go-when-youjust-cant-stop-looking-at-pictures-on-facebook/278185/" class="">http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/07/the-machine-zone-this-is-where-you-go-when-youjust-cant-stop-looking-at-pictures-on-facebook/278185/</a>)</span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-family:"Helvetica Light"" class="">,</span> in which he uses gamblers’ concept
of “the machine zone” to understand why digitally mediated activities like
Facebook photo-clicking are so compelling. I quote it at length here as I think
it’s directly related to kinds of “compulsions” we’ve been talking about on
this forum: </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><font face="Times New Roman" class="">The machine zone is the dark side of "flow," a psychological state proposed by Mihály Csíkszentmihályi. In a flow
state, there is a goal, rules for getting to the goal, and feedback on how
that's going. Importantly, the task has to match your skills, so there's a
feeling of "simultaneous control and challenge." </font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><font face="Times New Roman" class="">Schüll sees a twist on this phenomenon in front
of the new slot machines of Vegas, which incorporate tiny squirts of seeming
control to amp up their feedback loops. But instead of the self-fulfillment and
happiness that Csíkszentmihályi describes, many gamblers feel deflated and sad
about their time on the slots. The games exploit the human desire for flow, but without the
meaning or mastery attached to the state. </font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><font face="Times New Roman" class="">When we get wrapped up in a repetitive task on our
computers, I think we can enter some softer version of the machine zone.
Obviously, if you're engaged in banter with friends or messaging your mom on Facebook,
you're not in that zone. If you're reading actively and writing poems on
Twitter, you're not in that zone. If you're making art on Tumblr, you're not in
that zone. The machine zone is anti-social, and it's characterized by a lack of
human connection. You might be looking at people when you look through photos,
but your interactions with their digital presences are mechanical, repetitive,
and reinforced by computerized feedback. </font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><font face="Times New Roman" class="">The purest example of an onramp into the machine zone is
clicking through photo albums on Facebook. There's nothing particularly
rewarding or interesting about it. And yet, show me the Facebook user who hasn't
spent hours and hours doing just that. Why? You can find the zone. Click.
Photo. Click. Photo. Click. Photo. And perhaps, somewhere in there, you find
something cool ("My friend knows my cousin.") or cute ("Kitten.").
Great. Jackpot! Click. Photo. Click. Photo. Click. Photo. </font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><font face="Times New Roman" class="">What Facebook and slot machines share is the ability to
provide fast feedback to simple actions; the deliver tiny rewards on an
imperfectly predictable "payout" schedule. These are coercive loops,
distorting whatever the original intention of the user was. What began as
"See a picture of person X" becomes "keep seeing more
pictures." The mechanism itself becomes the point. </font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><font face="Times New Roman" class="">Here's my contention: Thinking about the machine zone and
the coercive loops that initiate it has great explanatory power. It explains
the "lost time" feeling I've had on various social networks, and that
I've heard other people talk about. It explains how the more Facebook has tuned
its services, the more people seem to dislike the experiences they have, even
as they don't abandon them. It helps explain why people keep going back to
services that suck them in, even when they say they don't want to. </font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><font face="Times New Roman" class="">Because designers and developers interpreted maximizing
"time on site, "stickiness," "engagement," as giving
people what they wanted, they built a system that elicits compulsive responses
from people that they later regret. ...Fighting the great nullness at the heart
of these coercive loops should be one of the goals of technology design, use,
and criticism.</font></p><p class="MsoNormal">Following this article by Madrigal, I began to use the phrase “ludic loops” as shorthand
for the troubling characteristics of so many nano-monetized digital and online experiences today. The journalist
Douglas Heaven paraphrased me on this in his <i class="">New Scientist</i>
piece “Obsession Engineers”: “<i class="">ludic loops
are tight, pleasurable feedback loops that stimulate repetitive, if not
compulsive behavior. … They lure people into short cycles of repeated actions
using tracks familiar to behavioral psychologists: you do something, the
machine responds with lights, jingling sounds, and occasionally cash rewards.
You do it again. And again, and again. Schull thinks the draw of … ludic loops
is a constant repetitive switching between certainty and uncertainty."</i> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Another short piece (on the NPR website, accompanying a radio
story they did on Candy Crush) described ludic loops like this: "<i class="">Anyone who has played </i><i class="">Tetris</i><i class=""> will know the great satisfaction when, after sliding and
turning a series of shapes, a four-block slides into place and four rows flash
on-and-off and then disappear. But more than this, as soon as that puzzle has
resolved itself, new ones are immediately created.”</i><i class=""> </i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b class="">TIME</b> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Here’s a passage from my book in which I try to think about the
digital formatting of this kind of rapid, “open-close” experience in relation
to Walter Benjamin’s mid-twentieth-century analysis of manufacturing
technologies, in the course of which he drew a comparison between the
temporalities of assembly-line labor and those of gambling: </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:27.0pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:
none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">Both
activities involved a continuous series of repeating events, each having “no
connection with the preceding operation for the very reason that it is its
exact repetition.”</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class="">
</span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';" class=""> “Each operation at the machine,” he wrote of
factory work, “is just as screened off from the preceding operation as a coup
in a game of chance is from the one that preceded it. . . . Starting all over
again is the regulative idea of the game, as it is of work for wages.” This
“starting over again,” this constant beginning that is discontinuous with all
previous beginnings, meant that each act of labor or play was experienced as a
nonchronological event “out of time.” Even as industrial work depended on
clocks so that time could be precisely measured and segmented, that very mode
of measurement and segmentation erased time by “screening off” each of its moments
from the others. Likewise, Benjamin argued, the isolation of each gambling
“moment” from the rest—“the ivory ball which rolls into the next compartment,
the next card which lies on top”—removed gamblers from the ordinary passage of
time.</span></p><div style="text-indent: 12px;" class="">This sounds an awful lot like the kinds of digital compulsion we’re concerned with in this forum (internet pornography, smart toothbrushes, slot machines, candy crush, hook-up apps)… which raises the question: are these digital formats <i class="">qualitatively </i>different than something like the assembly line or early arcade game — or are they doing the same work of removing us from clock time by fragmenting the flow of experience into a series of repeating moments, just at a more intense speed? As a point of contrast to Benjamin’s description of roulette or card gambling, we have the slot machine — a device that <span style="text-indent: 12px;" class="">further shrinks the time span of uncertainty, immediately resolving the event of the bet with the quick press of a button, speeding up encounters with contingency to a point where fragmentation feels like flow</span>… thereby intensifying the possibility for compulsion?</div><div style="text-indent: 12px;" class=""><br class=""></div><div style="text-indent: 12px;" class="">Natasha</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:27.0pt"><o:p class=""> </o:p></p>
<!--EndFragment--></body></html>