The Alabama Crimson Tide football team won its 18th National Championship on Monday. Fans littered the streets and packed in a celebration tighter than a can of sardines.
Oh, and we’re still in the middle of a pandemic…
Why do things like this still happen?
Let this be a lesson in delay discounting.
Delay Discounting 101
Delay discounting is a behavioral phenomenon in which individuals trade off smaller sooner reinforcers for larger later ones. Our choices are affected by differences in these outcomes.
We may be more “impulsive” and choose the immediate reinforcers (a party in the streets) because we can have them NOW versus choosing other reinforcers with delayed consequences (partying safely at home) that may occur down the line.
Smaller Sooner and Larger Later
A party in the streets is no match (in terms of reinforcer quality) compared to hanging out at home. Delay discounting is most concerned with immediacy of reinforcer delivery.
Smaller sooner (SS) reinforcers are immediate and you receive them right away. They are certain and bring instant satisfaction.
I want to party now!
Larger later (LL) reinforcers are delayed, coming days, weeks, and sometimes months down the road. They are uncertain and bring delayed satifiscation.
I can wait…
For Alabama football fans, these SS reinforcers became available as the fourth quarter wound down:
- Access to a larger social peer group (other Alabama fans)
- All the fun that goes into celebrating a win (yelling in public, running around the streets, high fives)
- The once in a lifetime opportunity to celebrate NOW (post-bowl win)
These larger LL that lost the battle to :
- Hanging out with one friend at home
- Social praise for staying at home while friends partied
- Celebrating a bowl win next year
In addition to delay discounting, the window of opportunity closes the night after a big win. Not many fans celebrate in the streets beyond one night. The smaller sooner reinforcer was available then, and only then.
No pandemic influence
College kids celebrate in the streets following any bowl win. This is not unusual. The unusual part is that, as of January 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic remains a threat to society. Yes, the kids “knew” they should wears masks and socially distance, but that didn’t happen.
Why not? Access to smaller sooner reinforcers outweighed the power of any alternative or delayed reinforcer, threat of consequence, or punisher.
Celebrating is not a lab study
Delay discounting is well-controlled methodology with all things being equal. Real life does not reflect the lab. The lab manipulates a host of variables variables like reinforcer magnitude (small versus big pay, time to receipt (tomorrow versus in a month), and probability (95% chance of receiving those reinforcers). These variations, along with multiple schedules of reinforcement and available punishment offer variables that predict how often and when Alabama fans will celebrate in the streets.
With the excitement of a bowl win, and no consequences for partying in the streets during the pandemic, the event was inevitable.
(As a proud Florida Gator alumni, this article is not a ding on Alabama…well maybe I’m biased a little bit.)
(image credit: New York Times)
