All of us have a mental weighing scale on which we weigh the likely costs and benefits of a decision or a future course of action. When the benefits outweigh the costs, in quantity or quality, only then do we carry out that decision
Consider the following example... You’re attracted to someone and want to approach them. You first evaluate the possible costs and benefits of this course of action in your mind. Suppose the cost of carrying out this action is more than its benefit. You decide not to approach because you fear getting rejected (which is a cost because it can lead to reputational or ego damage). Now, what if we something happens that would mitigate the cost? In this case, it could be your crush praising you excessively or constantly talking about you. This would reduce the risk/cost by a significant amount.
Do our unconscious behaviors follow the same principles? Yes they do. Even if a behavior occurs unconsciously, it will only occur when its benefits are greater than its costs. We tend to think that cost/benefit analysis requires complex calculations that can only be carried out by the conscious mind. But this is not the case.
Consider the following example.. Aguy who is addicted to smoking and sees his behavior as costly (wastage of money and potential health risk) and as a result comes to the conclusion that cost/benefit analysis principles do not apply to human behavior. After all, why would he continue doing a behaviour that is so costly for him? But when he realizes that, subconsciously, smoking satisfies his important need to look cool and socialize with his ‘cool’ smoker friends, he’ll surely change his mind about the legitimacy of the cost/benefit analysis when applied to human behavior.
In conclusion, behind every action/behavior there is a perceived benefit, conscious or unconscious, that has successfully outweighed all the costs associated with carrying out that behavior.
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Source material from PsychMechanics
