Scarcity Brain

Is 'always wanting more' causing us to lose what's truly meaningful? Understand how the scarcity loop shapes our habits and holds us back.

The Scarcity Loop: Why We Keep Chasing

The scarcity loop is a psychological cycle that makes us repeatedly chase rewards, even when it’s not in our best interest. Its three essential elements are opportunity, unpredictable rewards, and quick repeatability. Together, these components create obsessive behaviors that are hard to break. Casinos, social media, and apps all exploit this loop.

In the 1980s, entrepreneur Si Redd redesigned slot machines to make them highly addictive. By increasing opportunities to win and incorporating unpredictable, rewarding experiences, such as "near misses" or "losses disguised as wins," he perfected a system that keeps users hooked. Quick repeatability, with instant spins at the push of a button, cemented the addiction. These bright flashing machines went from boring to a multi-billion-dollar industry in just decades.

Today, this scarcity-based design has extended far beyond slot machines. Technologies like social media platforms and smartphone apps intuitively understand what draws us in. They craft experiences that keep us yearning for more – whether it’s Likes on Instagram or infinite scrolling on TikTok. Despite offering fleeting happiness, they leave us endlessly wanting.

Examples

• Slot machines designed with near misses that trick players into thinking they’re close to hitting the jackpot.
• Social media apps showing unpredictable notifications, triggering habitual scrolling.
• E-commerce sites offering limited-time deals and constant "sales" to stoke urgency and repeat purchases.

Evolution and the Scarcity Brain

Long before modern life, our ancestors had to navigate an uncertain world to survive. This shaped our brains to respond powerfully to the promise of unpredictable rewards. While this served humans well in survival contexts, today it leads us astray.

Psychologist B.F. Skinner observed that animals press levers obsessively when rewards are uncertain. This gambling-like behavior is driven by dopamine, the brain's motivator for chasing rewards. Centuries ago, our brains were reinforced by the dopamine surge from uncovering scarce but valuable food sources. In uncertain environments, this system helped humans persist long enough to thrive.

Fast forward to modern times, and this system continues to push us to crave more – not to survive, but to overindulge. Dopamine spikes when we receive notifications on our phones or consume media, much like the excitement of ancestrally tracking rare food! The scarcity brain persists, even though it can be counterproductive in a world of plenty.

Examples

• Rats repeatedly pressing levers for inconsistent food rewards, a behavior tied to dopamine.
• Ancestral humans driven to forage endlessly for calorie-dense food sources despite uncertain outcomes.
• Our affinity for binge-watching series that use cliffhangers to exploit the dopamine reward loop.

The Compulsion to Add More

Why do we believe that more equals better? This innate compulsion often blinds us to the power of subtraction, an approach that could simplify our lives and improve outcomes.

Leidy Klotz explored this in experiments where participants could add or subtract elements to solve problems. In nearly every case, people failed to see subtraction as an option. For example, when stabilizing a Lego structure, participants stacked more pieces needlessly instead of removing one pillar for better results. Our brains equate subtraction with loss and view addition as progress, even when it complicates solutions.

However, endless addition leads to clutter, inefficiency, and wasted resources. Modern life is full of examples – from bloated regulations to oversized homes and bloated work calendars packed with unnecessary meetings. The constant desire for "more" distracts us from what is truly meaningful: focusing on quality over quantity.

Examples

• Klotz’s Lego experiments where participants added complexity instead of simplifying the task.
• American houses that have tripled in size since 1970, yet satisfaction levels haven’t risen.
• Jobs requiring an overabundance of meetings, reducing productivity.

The Trap of Abundant Food

Abundant and processed foods feed into the scarcity brain, encouraging overeating and poor health. Our Stone Age wiring, built to handle food scarcity, continues to push us toward calorie-dense, varied, and novel foods.

Humans evolved to crave high-fat, sugary, and salty foods because they provided energy during times of famine. Today, processed foods amplify these traits to exploit those urges, leading to overconsumption. Extreme variety, like meal options at buffets, also tricks the brain into perceiving each new item as a chance to gain valuable nutrients.

Modern food habits perpetuate the scarcity loop by creating easy, rapid, and repeatable rewards. Whether it’s sugary drinks or snack foods, the quick, highly rewarding feedback from eating conditions us to keep consuming, even when it harms our long-term health.

Examples

• Processed foods engineered for "craveability" with a combination of fat, sugar, and salt.
• The rise of fast-food snacks, providing high rewards with minimal effort.
• Buffets offering excessive variety, encouraging people to eat far beyond hunger.

Dopamine: The Motivational Driver

Dopamine isn’t about feeling pleasure itself – it’s about motivating you to seek pleasure. This desire for uncertain rewards underpins many universal human obsessions, from gambling to smartphone use.

Our brains are wired to release more dopamine when rewards feel unpredictable. For example, ancient humans hunting animals experienced powerful dopamine spikes when prey was caught, reinforcing the behavior for survival. Today, that system is activated in all kinds of non-survival pursuits, like getting hooked on notification pings or Eagle Eye Coffee rewards on repeat.

While dopamine can lead to productive effort (as it did in ancient times), unchecked it’s one of the reasons we chase things that don't ultimately satisfy us.

Examples

• Dopamine driving hunters’ thrill for uncertain catches in prehistory.
• The reward loop users feel with every “ding” from social media.
• How casinos structure jackpot intervals to maintain engagement.

Overcoming the Allure of Variety

Though variety is often labeled the spice of life, excessive options can overwhelm us, making it harder to focus on what truly matters. By curbing the need to sample "everything," we can find more meaning in less.

Over centuries, humans evolved to pursue variety for survival—from exploring different food sources to adapting to changing climates. However, today’s endless choices, from Netflix options to supermarket aisles, leave us paralyzed or dissatisfied. Feeling the allure of experiencing everything makes it harder to commit to what's important.

Reducing variety might simplify life. Minimalist architects embrace restrained design, for instance, yet their structures feel richer for their simplicity.

Examples

• Streaming service users spending hours deciding what to watch but never committing.
• Shoppers buying unnecessary items simply to try something new.
• Minimalist architects’ projects that feel expansive yet pared down.

Redefining Rewards

Small, quick rewards might feel good for a moment, but they don’t offer lasting satisfaction. Redirecting energy toward long-term rewards provides more meaning.

In the digital realm, quick hits, such as viral animal videos, keep people entertained in the short term. But meaningful and rewarding experiences, like finishing a thoughtful book, offer deeper enjoyment and the added benefit of growth. Trading instant gratification for enduring satisfaction helps us avoid the endless scarcity loop.

By finding joy in deliberate practices or hobbies with depth, you can escape distraction and find more peace.

Examples

• Viral video clips that entertain momentarily but fade from memory soon after.
• Social media notifications providing quick dopamine bursts.
• Reading that requires focus but leaves a richer emotional and intellectual impact.

The Science of Behavioral Conditioning

Understanding the triggers that draw us into scarcity-based habits puts the power back in our hands. Knowing how habits are formed and reinforced can help us rethink how we handle temptations.

By breaking the scarcity loop where rewards dominate (like building limits in apps or automating time offline), we learn how to structure new, healthier habit loops.

Examples

• Apps setting usage timers to create stopping cues.
• Motivating exercises like “dopamine fasting.”
• Having zero gambling apps to decouple addiction over time.

Takeaways

1. Practice intentional consumption by questioning whether each choice adds meaning to your life.
2. Slow down daily to savor processes, whether it’s food, media, or time spent with loved ones.
3. Balance your brain's wiring against modern abundance by setting boundaries with tech and food options.