What’s The Deal With Perseveration?
Most of the time, the signal for stopping a behaviour is when the reason for doing it changes or disappears, so the behaviour becomes pointless and no longer serves a purpose. Social rules also tell us when we should stop a behaviour, as well as changes in the environment which make the behaviour unsafe.
Take running in a marathon as an example. The finish line is a very clear signal for when to stop running, but it’s also appropriate to stop running when there’s a thunderstorm or if the race is over because the time limit is up.
