<p>Why do we become bored of songs, films, stories, jokes, food after being exposed to them or experiencing them multiple times?</p>

<p>Why is it when our cortex becomes adequate at predicting the outcomes of a song, film, joke it seems to be less enjoyable, is this the case? And if so what is the neuroscience behind this phenomena that stops our pleasure center being activated? I get the evolutionary aspect of why this maybe the case but I wanted more detail on the neuroscience side.    </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-26T14:57:38.687Z
Interesting question. While you await an answer try looking for the answer yourself to possibly show some initial research yourself first. You can still update this question with any new information you find.
Steven Jeuris
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-26T17:20:50.070Z
If I find anything that answers this directly or something indirectly that could lead to an answer I'd post it. I'm not confident on the idea that when our cortex becomes capable of working out the outcome we get bored of it, I still find jokes funny when I know the punchline, I like songs I know all the words too, so it might be something else.
Sean Bateman
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-26T18:17:25.480Z
Check 'habituation' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habituation. Even though this applies to relatively low-level behaviour, it might provide some explanation for your question.
jokel
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-26T19:55:05.523Z
Well it seems like I was looking for [hedonic adaptation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill), but now I'm looking for an answer to why this happens on a neuro scientific level. The link you provided as well seems like the same thing what is strange why both are called different things, I will have to read up.
Sean Bateman
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-29T02:16:21.780Z
Good question! Here's a similar question: http://cogsci.stackexchange.com/questions/1792/how-long-can-a-person-stay-happy-excited-and-motivated-about-something-new a hint for research -check pandora Internet radio. It plays a lot of music that people originally like, but it gets tedious after many replays. Maybe there was some research on why.
Alex Stone
<learning><habituation>
Why do we become bored of stimuli after multiple exposures to it?
Sean Bateman
# Why do we become bored of stimuli after multiple exposures to it?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-11-26)

Why do we become bored of songs, films, stories, jokes, food after being exposed to them or experiencing them multiple times?

Why is it when our cortex becomes adequate at predicting the outcomes of a song, film, joke it seems to be less enjoyable, is this the case? And if so what is the neuroscience behind this phenomena that stops our pleasure center being activated? I get the evolutionary aspect of why this maybe the case but I wanted more detail on the neuroscience side.

**Tags:** learning, habituation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Interesting question. While you await an answer try looking for the answer yourself to possibly show some initial research yourself first. You can still update this question with any new information you find.  
> **username_0**: If I find anything that answers this directly or something indirectly that could lead to an answer I'd post it. I'm not confident on the idea that when our cortex becomes capable of working out the outcome we get bored of it, I still find jokes funny when I know the punchline, I like songs I know all the words too, so it might be something else.  
> **username_2**: Check 'habituation' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habituation. Even though this applies to relatively low-level behaviour, it might provide some explanation for your question.  
> **username_0**: Well it seems like I was looking for [hedonic adaptation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill), but now I'm looking for an answer to why this happens on a neuro scientific level. The link you provided as well seems like the same thing what is strange why both are called different things, I will have to read up.  
> **username_3**: Good question! Here's a similar question: http://cogsci.stackexchange.com/questions/1792/how-long-can-a-person-stay-happy-excited-and-motivated-about-something-new a hint for research -check pandora Internet radio. It plays a lot of music that people originally like, but it gets tedious after many replays. Maybe there was some research on why.  

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