Do we value more what we achieve with a lot of effort?

I am going to tell you about an experiment carried out with children some years ago.

The procedure consisted of the following: two toys (robots, for example, that emit sounds and flashes of lights) were placed within sight of a baby, at a safe distance. The arrival of the first robot was hindered by a transparent acrylic barrier, which allowed the toy to be seen, but made it difficult to touch it. The arrival of the second robot was not hindered in any way.

As irrational as it may seem, most of the babies would go as fast as they could to the first robot, and would try to catch it trying to climb over the fence. The most striking thing about it was that the higher the barrier that separated the babies from the toy, the faster they crawled and the more energy they invested in trying to touch the robot.

When the difficult becomes irresistible

Oddly enough, babies showed a much stronger preference for toys that were difficult for them to reach.

This is just one example of a singular phenomenon that characterizes the human being and conditions his behavior from the very cradle:

we react vehemently, offering resistance, to anything that hinders or limits our freedoms personal and decision-making capacity. We like to be in control, or at least think that we are.

The case of the famous as something unattainable

Another good example is the stars of entertainment.

The truth is that most famous actors and actresses are, on average, neither more beautiful nor smarter than the common people who walk down the street. The most beautiful women, I know, and I can speak of this by the simple authority that being a man gives me, they do not appear in fashion magazines or star in novels on television. On the contrary, I have seen them in public transport, in the neighborhood supermarket, and walking the dog in the square.

If we despair to ask for an autograph or to take a photo with the athlete of the moment who happens to be sitting at the next table in the restaurant we went to for dinner on Saturday night, or if we have lustful romances in our imaginations with the runway model of the moment it is largely part, because we perceive them as unique in their kind, and fundamentally unattainable. Yes, just like babies saw toy robots behind the fence.

The forbidden attracts

The bible says that in the time of creation itself, even Adam and Eve screwed up their necks, skewed (and blinded) by the possibility of accessing the inaccessible. The couple of lovebirds could eat from all the bushes that populated the lavish paradise, except for the forbidden fruit. The rule was simple, clear and forceful; it did not give rise to further interpretations.

Well, of all the trees and apples available in the vastness of the divine meadow, Which one did you find the most palatable in the first place? Precisely, the only one who had been forbidden.

The same is true today with the pure versions of any director of the seventh art, without the cuts imposed by the film production company, which is commonly known as "version extended ”. The film that supposedly escapes the censorship that has been exercised on the original work of the filmmaker, is usually presented with a certain air of mystique and exclusivity, it is sold separately on DVD, and it is always much more desirable by the public in general.

Self-censorship is a phenomenon that many political groups and parties use to draw attention to the message they want to convey.

Instead of seeking the massive dissemination of their proposals, they try to sell the idea of ​​censorship exercised by the authorities or the government of the day. "They want to shut us up" and "they don't want us to tell the truth" are supposedly characteristic anti-advertising phrases that exploit the typical human desire to obtain what is forbidden to them.

Everyone who knows me knows that I am a die-hard fan of "The Simpsons." There is an episode in which the chief of police has to go to an emergency. She is in his house, in the care of his son, if I remember correctly. Faced with the impossibility of leaving it under adult supervision; Before leaving he seriously warns the little boy that in his absence he can play with all the toys he wants, but that he in no way open the "mysterious closet of forbidden secrets". Well, if the reader friend did not see the chapter or is not a fan of the series, he will already be imagining where the boy hurriedly went as soon as the boss crossed the threshold of the door.

The case of the Argentine crisis and the corralito

Those who live in Argentina and are already a certain age, will remember the world famous "corralito" that was decreed at that time in 2001 by the minister of economy.

This politician ordered by the national chain that from that moment, all those inhabitants who had personal savings in the banks could only withdraw the absurd figure of $ 250 per week for whatever use they wanted to give that money. What happened next went around the world.

People, who a week before had no intention of taking their money out of the bank, suddenly felt the overwhelming need to do so. The measure triggered a real collective desperation among the population to have in their own hands what rightfully belonged to them.

Social protests accumulated and chaos took over the streets. In a few days, the president of the nation had to resign, harassed and overwhelmed by a social outbreak that ended with several deaths and dozens of injuries.

Overcome the crisis at that time, many years later, a different government in command in the Argentine state ruled severe restrictions on the purchase of foreign currency, mainly dollars and euros, in what ended up being called "stocks exchange rate ”.

Buying tickets like there's no tomorrow

Until that moment, any ordinary citizen was free to acquire American or European currency in any bank without further requirements or conditions. From the establishment of the stocks, the prohibition to buy dollars was practically total, with which, this strange psychological phenomenon appeared back on stage.

The greenish banknotes being restricted for almost everyone, they became the figurine difficult to achieve, which brought not only severe complications for the local economy, but also also the proliferation of clandestine exchange houses everywhere, and the establishment of a parallel market that soon was out of control.

More than once I have given serious thought to the possibility of mailing a copy of this article to Casa Rosada. Or offer them psychological counseling. I can't believe that after full years of first-hand experience, they keep making the same stupid mistakes over and over again.

Benefiting from the attraction for the difficult

In return, those who did do things well in the 80s were the national rock band "Patricio Rey y sus Redonditos de Ricota". They applied the concept that we are here debating today perfectly, and to their own advantage.

First of all, the Redonditos gave live concerts very sporadically. At the most, they did it only once a year, with which, thanks to the scarcity of the offer, they made sure that the recitals were always massive.

As a corollary, they appeared in points well away from Buenos Aires, where there was the largest concentration of public that followed them. Like the acrylic barriers that made it difficult for babies to touch the toy, Los Redonditos gave their concerts in La Plata, Mendoza, and even Uruguay, ensuring difficult access for a large part of its fans and therefore a greater degree of interest for its followers.

Surely some reader is thinking that the Redonditos actually presented their shows in Uruguay to the approval of the Uruguayan public. Well no. That is a fairly naive point of view on the matter and strictly speaking, if there's one thing the band members and their production never sinned about, it was naive.

Concluding

Things are more desirable and valuable to us to the extent that we cannot have them, and the less desirable and valuable to the extent that they are perceived as ordinary, ordinary, and easily accessible.

And this has been the case since the very origins of humanity, since the time of the caves, a context in which they were scarce all the basic elements we needed to survive childhood, reach adulthood and be able to reproduce.

Today, practically everything that was difficult to obtain before, we can request it by delivery in our own home. However, we continue to make decisions based on an unconscious mental premise, and that leads us to believe that what is achieved with effort, or has a certain degree of exclusivity, is more important or valuable to us, and we want it at all costs.