Why We Do What We Do
Like Duolingo, but for Why We Do What We Do. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
98 levels across 8 sections, about 196 minutes end to end, roughly 39 days at five minutes a day. It moves through The Basics of Action, Navigating the Social World, The Mechanics of Habit, Understanding Emotions, How We Make Choices, Reading the Room, Who We Are, and The Biological Engine. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Why We Do What We Do
- Environmental cues trigger automatic responses
- Scripts provide a predictable playbook
- Habits bypass conscious decision-making
- Scripts reduce mental energy
- Repetition creates trigger-action loops
- Social scripts are shared expectations
- Automatic triggers drive behavior
- Mental scripts simplify interactions
- Breaking a script triggers an immediate 'alarm' of social awkwardness
- The brain often invents logical reasons for actions after they have already happened
- Recognizing that automatic triggers drive behavior more than conscious choice
- Deviating from expected behavior causes friction for both the individual and the group
- Rationalization hides the fact that an action was actually impulsive or automatic
- Identifying how mental scripts simplify different social interactions
- Social pressure acts as a corrective force to bring people back into the script
- Small initial actions set a psychological 'tone' for subsequent choices
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Why We Do What We Do the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
What is the primary purpose of a 'mental script' in a social setting?
Get it right to open this lesson and 97 more in the app.
Where Why We Do What We Do takes you
Unlock the hidden patterns behind human actions, from the habits that shape your day to the social forces that influence your biggest decisions.
- 1
The Basics of Action
- The Invisible Scripts of Daily Life
- The Engine of Reward and Punishment
- The Power of the Situation
- 2
Navigating the Social World
- Why We Follow the Crowd
- The Roles We Play
- First Impressions and Snap Judgments
- 3
The Mechanics of Habit
- The Habit Loop
- Designing Your Environment
- The Limits of Willpower
- 4
Understanding Emotions
- The Purpose of Feelings
- The Stress Response
- Empathy and Connection
- 5
How We Make Choices
- Mental Shortcuts
- Loss Aversion and Ownership
- The Paradox of Choice
- 6
Reading the Room
- The Language of the Body
- The Art of Listening
- Conflict and Resolution
- 7
Who We Are
- Nature vs. Nurture
- The Spectrum of Personality
- What Drives Us
- 8
The Biological Engine
- The Reward System
- How Behavior Changes the Brain
- Our Evolutionary Heritage
8 sections · 24 units · 98 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
Why We Do What We Do is taught in the The Professor style: clear, structured, thorough. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Why We Do What We Do today.
Download Tomo, search Why We Do What We Do, and play your first lesson in under a minute.