“Hmph, dem oomies tink deys fasta then us ladz. Well they sure as Gork aint got Burftog’s Mega Orktane Go Juice and dere wagons don’t even got a red paint job…Lets krump ‘em for tryin!” – Burftog, Evil Sunz Mekboy.
This talk explores the intriguing similarities between the actions of Orcs in Warhammer 40k and key mechanisms of human motivation and cognition. Orcs demonstrate striking similarities to real-world human behaviour; at least in parts and not considering the fungal-based nature of their existence of course. Both humans and Orcs have a strong belief in their ability to develop, learn and persevere; all not too dissimilar to a student that beliefs they can overcome their problems. This goes beyond the mere placebo effect and is evident of a true Growth Mindset. The placebo effect further demonstrates how expectations can modify performance, echoing Orcs’ reactions to perceived strategic advantages that is echoes psychically across all Orcs.
And if more Orcs believe that “the red ones go faster”, then of course more red paint will be used which increases the likelihood of a red-painted vehicle to be the fastest; regardless of the driver or the Mekboy that was involved in the construction. Recognizing statistical regularities in the environment is fundamental to humans as well and this type of implicit learning is largely unconscious as well as unintentional. It makes the world around us more coherent, predictable and more manageable. Taken together, in this talk we will explore how Orcs can be a mirror of human activity and use this as a pathway towards starting to reflect on our own behaviour and cognition.
Author bio
Maximilian A. Friehs is an assistant professor in Psychology of Conflict, Risk and Safety at the University of Twente. Previously he has worked across multiple institutions in Germany, Canada and Ireland. He focusses on human-mediated reality interactions and shaping cognitive control.
