How hard is it NOT to electrocute a kitten?

Apparently, very.

I have just had the pleasure of watching Derren Brown's 'Trick or Treat', I've never watched it before, and despite expecting it to be some crazy occult shindig, it was actually just about psychology.

The whole programme centred around Negativity, and the negative messages that our brain gives us that can cause us to fail.

One example was a guy who could jump-rope on a tight-rope, and had never fallen off in his life. Until, he was told to focus on NOT wobbling or falling off, and a crash mat was placed beneath him. He fell off.

More bizarrely, a girl was placed into a room, and told explicitly not to press a large red button, as It would electrocute the fluffy kitten in a glass cage in the same room. Despite liking cats, and gazing fondly at the kitten for 5 minutes, she eventually pressed the button.*

This supposedly proves the theory that the more we try not to do something, the more we want to do it, and the power of negative thoughts on our ability to make the choices. And it was probably all staged.

But I think there's some real truth in that. For example, there more I tell myself not to waste time, I find, the more time I waste. And the more effort we spend focusing on stuff that isn't good for us, the more tempting it becomes to do it. So, I will try and think about what I will do, rather than what I'll try not to do.

Or perhaps I could try the negative thought test on myself for useful purposes: 'Whatever you do Louise, do NOT tidy your room/write your research Essay'. Hm.


*No animals were harmed, actually, the cat didn't die in the end, she was just lead to believe it would. It may have been 11pm at night but I guess there are limits to what they will show on TV...