Keep Flirting and Don't Get Killed

Borges Frederick Skinner

(Earth Calendar 1904–1990 AD)

Earth World Profession- Psychologist

Founder of Neo-Behavioral Learning Theory

Founder of Operant Conditioning Theory

When Skinner was in college, he made a box for psychological experiments, which was later called the 'Skinner Box'. Skinner used to conduct experiments using mice or pigeons in this box. Among his many experimental results, there was a theory called Intermittent Reinforcement, discovered by him when he was exploring ‘operant conditioning’.

Before that accidental discovery, Skinner had found that if animals were trained to press a switch every time they were given food, they would develop a conditioned reflex to press the switch to get food. However, if the switch continued to be pressed and no food was obtained, this conditioned reflex behavior would soon subside.

Later, during an experiment, Skinner had a sudden idea and no longer followed the routine. 

When the animals pressed the switch, he did not give a fixed amount of food. Instead, he sometimes gave more food, sometimes less, and sometimes no food at all. This made the behavior of 'getting food after pressing the switch' a random event. 

Skinner was surprised to find that after training with this ‘intermittent random reward’ method, the mice and pigeons became addicted! They would keep pressing the switch like crazy until Skinner completely ignored their behavior and did not give food for a long time, and then they would subside!

Based on this experimental result, Skinner proposed the Intermittent Reinforcement Theory. This theory might not have had a deep impact on ordinary people at that time (estimated to be around 1950 AD in the Earth calendar), but looking at it now, the theory was pretty terrifying.

When a person had a crush on someone, they would check their phone from time to time just to see if 'the crush' had replied or sent a message. As long as 'the crush' gave some random responses from time to time, the person would be happy for a long time and continue to wait for more responses from 'the crush' with perseverance. 

When inexperienced people enter a casino, they are always favored by luck at first, winning more than losing, and gradually becoming addicted through 'training'. After that, every time they gambled, they were like the lab rats pressing a switch in the hope of getting more food. Even if they started to lose in succession later, they would continue to gamble until they lost everything. 

Also, in the beginning, card-drawing-type mobile games always gave players a large number of ten-draw combos. However, this was not a welfare gift, but a way of ‘training’ players to become addicted to card drawing by using Intermittent Random Rewards. Once they became addicted, people always thought they could get better rewards in the next ten-draw combos, and couldn't stop playing over and over...

Coming to the present day, Skinner's Intermittent Reinforcement Theory has long been understood by the capitalists of the Earth World and has permeated every corner of life and work in various insidious ways. This psychological effect was so powerful that no human being has ever been immune to it. People were trapped in it, unable to extricate themselves, unable to resist. 

Among the information obtained, Master Nissen found an example of great practical significance, called 'The Application of Intermittent Random Rewards in a Relationship':

—In a relationship, if you always agree to your partner's every request, they will eventually take your compliance for granted and will no longer take it seriously, their attitude becoming more and more careless.

—On the other hand, if you refuse every time, they will feel there is no hope after being rejected many times and will easily give up from the start.

—Therefore, only ‘random’ agreements could keep the relationship fresh for a long time. Every time the partner tentatively made requests and the request was accepted, they were happy, bringing this positive emotion into the relationship, and making it more effective.

(Terrible... It's really terrible! The people on Earth have developed such an evil theory, which is basically treating people as animals and domesticating them!)

Master Nissen was really shocked after reading the information in the Omniscient Wisdom Library. She felt as if she had discovered a deep truth. After understanding the Intermittent Reinforcement Theory, Master Nissen recalled that Jiang Ran sometimes answered her questions, and sometimes deliberately kept her in suspense. Wasn't this a random reward? Was she always fooled by Jiang Ran because she had unknowingly become addicted to him?!

(What a close call! Fortunately, I found out early! Damn bastard Jiang Ran, he actually wanted to 'domesticate' me?!)

Master Nissen felt like she had survived a disaster, and she was also very angry with Jiang Ran! ... However, she was still smart enough to know she couldn't let him find out that she had figured it out.

Silly Ni: (If you don't want to say it, then don't say it~ Isn't it about that guy, Skinner; you thought I didn't know? Let me tell you, I was just teasing you just now!)

The stupid loli bragged in her usual way.

Jiang Ran: You are indeed the Great Master Nissen. Then tell me, how can I apply the Theory of Intermittent Reinforcement to make Violet like me?

Silly Ni: (Isn't that simple? Isn't it just... Isn't it just this, that… that…)

Stupid loli was not pretending to say this. She really got stuck halfway through. As for how to apply the Theory of Intermittent Reinforcement to Violet, she really had no idea.

Now, she realized that knowing the theory and applying it in practice were two different things. Thinking about it, the scenario of the "hero saving the beauty" was not the same as the little lab rat in the Skinner Box, so it couldn't be applied directly.

Also, to apply that 'extremely practical example' didn't feel right. In the current situation, Jiang Ran could only ask Violet out. It was not possible for him to act reserved and wait for Violet to ask him out.

Silly Ni: (Humph, such a simple question is an insult to my intelligence!)

Well, being able to insult something that does not exist is also a skill.

It took Silly Ni a while to understand Jiang Ran's words before she realized that she was teased by him again. While she furiously started to call Jiang Ran names, Jiang Ran was already taking action.

The core of applying the Intermittent Reinforcement Theory was to think clearly about what was the switch and what was the reward. Only when these two experimental conditions were set correctly would the Intermittent Reinforcement Theory work.

With the experience accumulated so far, Jiang Ran had already obtained the minimum information he needed before confirming Violet as his target. Next, he had to make Violet addicted to the boy named Banning within three days.