repeadtedly doing things you know will have a bad outcome

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here's a trivial example but they can be really serious things too

colour my hair wearing a dress i like which is ruined in the process - but i don't learn by it and do the same thing over and over

....or my personal favorite: putting things like spaghetti and mashed potatoes down the garbage disposal and hoping I don't have to end up calling a plumber!

another one of mine!

this is by definition, something that affects a great deal of those Aspergers, myself included.

i often have financial troubles, and i don't ask for help, which leads to bills getting unpaid and/or late fees piling up to the point where i can't pay the bill or it's several times larger than the original bill.

Yes, but I suppose that you don't do the same thing over and over while expecting a different outcome, you simply lack the planning skills and the awareness of outcome to manage the process.

I have a huge problem with this - I do some painting, or plastering, or gluing and discover that I have ruined another set of clothes that I could use to go out of the house (or even, occasionally, my best clothes). I have two sections in my wardrobe for "presentable" and "dirty work" wear, but I still fail to control the urge to do a little job without changing. I do keep my best clothes in those zip-up plastic hangers now, so it is much harder to ruin a suit jacket or trousers.

I don't know what aspect of cognitive deficit this is called, but it is one with serious outcomes.

In my own case, and like with the clothes, I sometimes just go on ahead because I believe the outcome *should* be different -- I have met people who never get stuff on their clothes -- and my plan (or maybe actually my lack of planning, and as an issue of ego or pride) would be disrupted by taking time to change.

Bounced cheques, missed direct debits ...

Asking for help finding a job, only to watch all of them pity me and help someone else instead.

Getting a job and expecting it to not go to hell in under a year, and watching everything go as predicted.

Drinking caffinated drinks, and becoming paranoid from it.

Part of this may be due to a memory system in the brain/mind which does not automatically emphasize the value of/benefit from making a different, better choice (such as changing clothes to color one's hair).

Awareness is sometimes part of the process.

Perhaps with awareness some small change is slowly possible over time.

Yes, I used to do this SO often when I was younger that everyone thought I had no common sense. I still do it, but I've learned (to an extent). I don't know why, but my brain just constantly wants to fix things and I think- if I keep doing the same thing- whatever is off might actually get fixed someday.

A big one for me is to perpetually keep trying foods which I already know I dislike.

I can see that it might be someting to do with choices. I'm aware that there are other, better choices, but I don't make them. Remember being a child and knowing that I needed the bathroom and that I could get up and use it but choosing to wet the bed.

i do the same hair dye (or paint) / clothing thing again and again. i wonder if it is something to do with difficulty of transition from thought to action, which would probably be an executive function thing. i'm sure it is not laziness, or inability to learn from one's mistakes. it probably takes more time and energy to remove stains from a dress than to change into different clothes.

Attempting to banter.

("This time it will work, I swear!! !")

Drinking an energy drink, or coffee, knowing that 80 milligrams or more of caffine, will cause me to have even less control of my bowels, than I already do. If I drink tea, or water, and I'm close enough to a washroom, during the day, I'm usually fine. If I drink a cup of coffee, or an energy drink, I don't have any control.

I haven't bought any energy drinks, for a month, and I've stayed away from coffee, for two weeks.

i always park wherever i please. i hope i will not be booked, but i often am.
i have thousands of dollars in parking fines that i have yet to get around to paying.

i have not yet bothered to get an e-toll device for my vehicle. there are many toll roads in sydney i use, and they are cashless so i must have an e-toll device (topped up with money) stuck to my windscreen that gets docked the toll every time i drive underneath the spotlit camera infested toll collection point rack.

it is now 3 months since i have been using these roads daily without an e-toll device, and i have now over $2000 of toll violation orders to pay. every week i get about 15-20 new toll violation notices in the mail, and each one carries a $10 administration fee as well as the fee for the original toll.

i just can not force myself to submit and get the device which would save me thousands of dollars in fines.

i am stupid, but there is some deeply ingrained resistance in me that prevents me from doing the sane thing and spending 20 mins to go to the motor registry to obtain the device.

i need help in a way.

I've always felt uncomfortable with the phrase, "The definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result." Afterall, sometimes I find myself doing this, but I know I'm not stupid. It's just, sometimes I can't help doing things that are below my intelligence. When I can sit and think about something, it's clear to me what's wrong with a certain action. But when doing, well, sometimes I'll fail in the "common sense" category.