Superresponse

Superresponse is refers to an exaggerated human reaction made in response to an exaggerated stimulus (or supernormal stimulus). The term was coined by Paul Elam as a corollary to the theory of supernormal stimuli.

Supernormal stimuli create superresponses that override traditional evolutionary purposes & encourage people to eat junk foods due to the attraction of unnaturally high sugar, salt or fat content. Or alternatively a super-response may appear in the form of gynocentric sycophancy of males toward females when faced with enhancement of female sexual qualities via cosmetics, cosmetic surgery and so on. Many people misinterpret superresponses as examples traditional evolutionary purpose, when they are not.

Elam defines a superresponse as follows:

Sugar, fat and salt may act as a superstimulus and elicit a superresponse in humans

A superstimulus refers to the exaggeration of a normal stimulus to which there is an existing biological tendency to respond. An exaggerated response, or, if you will, superresponse, can be elicited by any number of superstimuli. For example, when it comes to female birds, they will prefer to incubate larger, artificial eggs over their own natural ones. Large, colorful eggs are a superstimulus. Leaving real eggs out to die is the superresponse.

Similarly, humans are easily exploited by junk food merchandisers. Humans are easily trained to choose products that cause heart disease, diabetes, and cancer over the nutritious food they evolved to eat and thrive on, simply by playing tricks on the taste buds and manipulating the starvation reflex. Sugar and refined carbohydrates are superstimuli. Consuming toxic substances is the superresponse.

The idea is that healthy human behavior evolved in response to normal stimuli in our ancestor’s natural environment. That includes our reproductive instincts. The same behavioral responses have now been hijacked by the supernormal stimulus. From this perspective, we see that a superstimulus acts like a potent drug, one every bit comparable to heroin or cocaine which imitate weaker chemicals like dopamine, oxytocin, and endorphins, all of which occur naturally in our bodies.

As with drug addictions, the effects of superstimuli account for a range of obsessions and failures plaguing modern man – from the epidemic of obesity and obsessions with territoriality to the destructive, violent and suicidal behaviors central to our modern cult of romantic love.