Why do we always like to press big red buttons?

Suppose you are locked in an empty room, in front of you only a big red button is placed. Will you leave it there or will you press it?

Why do we always crave to push big red buttons?

Find the source of the big red buttons and why we always tend to press them.

Do you feel excited by a button like this?

The button of the Cold War period

In fact, there was not a nuclear war start button.

During the Cold War, the red button was often associated with a fantasy: the button started for nuclear war. When someone presses the button, the nuclear missiles begin to fly. However, that was just a myth of rumors, there wasn't any red button that had such a task.

The exact origin of the red buttons is difficult to identify. However, one thing is certain, they are used to prevent a dangerous situation, not to start. In the new era, red buttons are often integrated on dangerous devices as a function to cancel a mission in an emergency.

Button on the IBM System / 360 Model computer.

We can see on the IBM System / 360 Model in 1965, there was a big red button and it was completely separate from the other buttons. The button is defined as 'Emergency pull' , meaning 'emergency pull' .

According to the instruction manual, once the button is pressed, all power on each system unit will be turned off immediately.

On public transport, red buttons are usually a form of emergency braking. The red button also often carries the task of turning on an alarm system, such as fire alarms in a factory or school.

Emergency button on the Florida Crystal River nuclear plant panel.

In particular, in some nuclear power plants, there is always something called a 'brake switch' . They are used to cool reactors in an emergency to prevent a nuclear disaster. In this case, a big red button is an unreasonable choice.

The red button in literature and movies

It is not difficult to conclude that we see red buttons a lot in movies, especially cartoons. Normally, there will be a silly character pressing the red button, and an unexpected situation will occur. Popular animated films like 'Wander over Yonder', 'An Adventure in Space and Time' , or 'Thief of Time' novels all have red buttons.

The red button is an image often seen in animation.

In the series 'Spy 007' , the red buttons are used to activate special weapons. In the movie 'Men In Black' , the red button in the car that Agent K told J was only used in an emergency, it would activate the powerful space engine for the car.

It will also be difficult to determine when the red buttons went into movies or media products. However, a relatively early example can be found. It is a short story called 'Button, Button' which appeared in Playboy magazine in 1970 by legendary writer Richard Matheson. In the story, a couple receives a box with a button inside, each time they press the button, they receive $ 50,000, but in exchange, a person they do not know will die.

If this is the case, will you press the button or leave it there? And if so, how many times will you hit it? Probably the answer will be very difficult. However, it must be affirmed that we always have the desire to press big red buttons.

What do psychologists say?

' We tend to be willing to push any button , maybe this will provide dopamine, a chemical in the brain,' said Larry Rosen, a psychologist and professor at the University of California. fun. Or at least it reduces cortisol, another chemical that makes us feel anxious. '

Especially when the red button comes with a warning 'Don't press' , the more we crave to press it. In psychology, this is explained by electromagnetism . This theory explains, when someone forbids us to press the red button, meaning that our freedom is threatened, people will break the ban to protect that freedom.

Therefore, we tend to crave taboos more than those that are not banned.

In everyday life, when we press a button, something will definitely happen and that is rarely a negative thing. For example, we press the doorbell, the door will open. When entering the restaurant, we press the button to call the service, similarly when calling the attendant on the plane. Simply, we press the buttons to turn on the television, to open the car door. Life cannot be without buttons.

Thus, people tend to press buttons because we think doing that will make us achieve something. And the more someone says that don't press that button, the harder it is to resist. It is human nature.

Digital era 'red buttons'

A game started by Reddit in April, they created a time countdown timer in 60 seconds with a 'reset' button. When someone anywhere in the world accesses and presses this button, the clock recounts from the beginning. Surprisingly, it should have been a countdown of 60 seconds, the watch had been running for more than a month with a million times the button pressed.

Digital era "red buttons".

Reddit's game is just one of many examples you can see the red buttons of the digital age. Many applications on the phone contain red buttons, although you just need to touch them on the touch screen, not press it down. The desire to touch the button did not diminish.

Keep an eye out for your Facebook announcements, it's actually a 'red button' . Every time someone texts or shows a message, you must quickly press and check it immediately.

Through all these examples, Larry Rosen concludes: Whether the red buttons are a physical button or a touchscreen button, if there is one in front, we all feel like pressing it. .This behavior gives us satisfaction and comfort so it's hard to resist the big red buttons.