WHY WES IS RIGHT
Wes is right about a lot of things. First of all, rewarding people for good behavior as a first choice instead of punishing bad behavior creates better results. There are of course circumstances where bad behavior is continuing, and if positive reward systems for good behavior have failed, you cannot ignore the need to punish bad behavior. In fact, studies show that employees want a just and fair environment where punishment is used when positive reinforcement has failed. Employees simply want the punishment to match the infraction and not be disproportionate. They also want it to be consistent with what others have received for the same behaviors. But let’s look at trying to reward good behavior as a first choice.
A researcher at Harvard University, David Rand, asserts that rewarding people for good behavior, rather than punishing them for bad behavior, will result in higher levels of public cooperation. In his study on the topic, Rand had college students play a computer game for sixty minutes. Students were directed to cooperate in the game to reach a common goal with other players. Students were told that they would receive a monetary bonus for any points they accumulated just for themselves, which could encourage selfishness. Players would also get points for being cooperative and generous. The students were allowed to punish people in the course of the game who were acting selfish or reward people who were acting cooperatively.
The study showed that the groups that rewarded cooperation the most earned twice as much monetary reward over the groups that rewarded the least for cooperation. The study also showed that payoffs were the worst for groups that used punishment the most. Positive reinforcement and cooperation generated goodwill and produced overall better outcomes. Many studies have shown that rewarding good behavior to create cooperation is a better first choice than punishing bad behavior.
So if rewards are good, are there any studies to support the idea that random rewards are better? Yes there are, and that’s another reason Wes was right. Random rewards cause higher levels of dopamine to be released in your body. Dopamine is a catecholamine neurotransmitter in the central nervous system that among other things helps to regulate movement and emotion. Dopamine plays a large role in the pleasure reward pathways of your brain. A release of dopamine can cause a person to feel a sense of bliss and general well-being. Lower levels of dopamine can cause many problems including depression, loss of satisfaction, and an inability to pay attention or focus.
A neuroscientist at Cambridge University, Wolfram Schultz, has examined how dopamine levels work in the brains of monkeys. A light is flashed in front of the monkey and then a squirt of sweet juice is given to the monkey (a reward). The researcher then monitors the response of brain cells and dopamine release.
Initially, the neurons fire and increase dopamine as the reward is given. Once the monkey figures out that the light always precedes the reward, the dopamine neurons will fire as soon as the monkey sees the light. However, once the monkey knows the juice will be provided each time, the monkey expects it, anticipates it, and the dopamine neurons stop firing. There’s no brain excitement for the anticipated reward and the monkey becomes disappointed. However, if the researcher provides a reward of juice without ever flashing the light (an unexpected, random reward), then the dopamine neurons become highly charged, producing a much larger release of dopamine than the expected reward produced.
A similar study using monkeys was conducted at the Concordia University in Canada. The researchers were attempting to detect and measure dopamine releases and fluctuations associated with risk/reward tasks. In this study, a computer screen would flash different color visuals to the monkeys. When certain colors were shown, the monkey would receive a reward (a drop of syrup). The experiment was performed in three different ways, consecutively on the same monkeys.
In the first experiment, the researchers would reward the monkey each and every time the monitor showed the reward color. In the second experiment, the monkey never received a reward, regardless of what showed on the computer screen. In the third experiment, the monkey received a random reward 50% of the time the reward color showed up on the computer screen.
With the first experiment, the dopamine levels in the monkey rose only the first few times the monkey received the reward. The monkey became accustomed to getting the reward and because of that, the dopamine neurons stopped firing. With the second experiment, the dopamine levels initially rose because the monkey expected to receive a reward when the reward color presented itself on the screen. However, after realizing the reward was never coming, the dopamine levels remained unchanged.
With the third experiment, the dopamine levels in the monkey rose every time the reward color was shown even though the reward was given randomly. When the monkey actually received a reward, the dopamine neurons would fire strongly and release a high level surge of dopamine. The use of random rewards actually caused a constant release of dopamine in the monkey’s brain and a surge of dopamine when a reward was actually received.
To be continued...
-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More
A researcher at Harvard University, David Rand, asserts that rewarding people for good behavior, rather than punishing them for bad behavior, will result in higher levels of public cooperation. In his study on the topic, Rand had college students play a computer game for sixty minutes. Students were directed to cooperate in the game to reach a common goal with other players. Students were told that they would receive a monetary bonus for any points they accumulated just for themselves, which could encourage selfishness. Players would also get points for being cooperative and generous. The students were allowed to punish people in the course of the game who were acting selfish or reward people who were acting cooperatively.
The study showed that the groups that rewarded cooperation the most earned twice as much monetary reward over the groups that rewarded the least for cooperation. The study also showed that payoffs were the worst for groups that used punishment the most. Positive reinforcement and cooperation generated goodwill and produced overall better outcomes. Many studies have shown that rewarding good behavior to create cooperation is a better first choice than punishing bad behavior.
So if rewards are good, are there any studies to support the idea that random rewards are better? Yes there are, and that’s another reason Wes was right. Random rewards cause higher levels of dopamine to be released in your body. Dopamine is a catecholamine neurotransmitter in the central nervous system that among other things helps to regulate movement and emotion. Dopamine plays a large role in the pleasure reward pathways of your brain. A release of dopamine can cause a person to feel a sense of bliss and general well-being. Lower levels of dopamine can cause many problems including depression, loss of satisfaction, and an inability to pay attention or focus.
A neuroscientist at Cambridge University, Wolfram Schultz, has examined how dopamine levels work in the brains of monkeys. A light is flashed in front of the monkey and then a squirt of sweet juice is given to the monkey (a reward). The researcher then monitors the response of brain cells and dopamine release.
Initially, the neurons fire and increase dopamine as the reward is given. Once the monkey figures out that the light always precedes the reward, the dopamine neurons will fire as soon as the monkey sees the light. However, once the monkey knows the juice will be provided each time, the monkey expects it, anticipates it, and the dopamine neurons stop firing. There’s no brain excitement for the anticipated reward and the monkey becomes disappointed. However, if the researcher provides a reward of juice without ever flashing the light (an unexpected, random reward), then the dopamine neurons become highly charged, producing a much larger release of dopamine than the expected reward produced.
A similar study using monkeys was conducted at the Concordia University in Canada. The researchers were attempting to detect and measure dopamine releases and fluctuations associated with risk/reward tasks. In this study, a computer screen would flash different color visuals to the monkeys. When certain colors were shown, the monkey would receive a reward (a drop of syrup). The experiment was performed in three different ways, consecutively on the same monkeys.
In the first experiment, the researchers would reward the monkey each and every time the monitor showed the reward color. In the second experiment, the monkey never received a reward, regardless of what showed on the computer screen. In the third experiment, the monkey received a random reward 50% of the time the reward color showed up on the computer screen.
With the first experiment, the dopamine levels in the monkey rose only the first few times the monkey received the reward. The monkey became accustomed to getting the reward and because of that, the dopamine neurons stopped firing. With the second experiment, the dopamine levels initially rose because the monkey expected to receive a reward when the reward color presented itself on the screen. However, after realizing the reward was never coming, the dopamine levels remained unchanged.
With the third experiment, the dopamine levels in the monkey rose every time the reward color was shown even though the reward was given randomly. When the monkey actually received a reward, the dopamine neurons would fire strongly and release a high level surge of dopamine. The use of random rewards actually caused a constant release of dopamine in the monkey’s brain and a surge of dopamine when a reward was actually received.
To be continued...
-Excerpt from Kimberly Alyn's book titled How to Inspire People to Achieve More
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