Letters to the Editor: A psychology professor on the GOP’s gambling-like compulsion

To the editor: Columnist Virginia Heffernan talks about a “mental phenomenon known among gamblers as tilt,” which she refers to as “a brain-hijacking that happens after an ego blow.” She then uses that as an analogy to explain why Republicans keep losing but continue to push the same buttons.

It’s not a mental phenomenon, however, but a behavioral one with a simpler explanation.

Political campaigns, like gambling, are on what are known by behavioral scientists as schedules of reinforcement, in particular, intermittent schedules. Behavior on an intermittent schedule produces a reward only after an average number of responses. The average can range from very low to very high.

On slot machines and other forms of gambling, the average is very high and, consequently, the payoff is rare. Ironically, that keeps the gambler hooked so he or she continues to play literally against the odds.

It’s not clear whether this analogy applies to the current Republican Party; its members are clearly pushing the same buttons. Only time (2022 and 2024) will tell if their button-pushing hits a jackpot.

Henry D. Schlinger, Glendale

The writer is a professor of psychology at Cal State Los Angeles.

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To the editor: There is something else that the GOP obviously never learned from the left — the Streisand Effect.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) may not shut up about the former president’s Big Lie, but with her ouster as the third-ranking Republican in the House, GOP leadership handed her a megaphone.

Liz White, Los Angeles