The fresh flavors taste good now – a here-and-now reward that’s more motivating than potentially avoiding health problems in the future.
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Long-term goals can be hard to stick to if the benefits are only way off in the future. Research suggests ways to focus on the here and now to help you ultimately achieve your more far-off targets.
Whistleblower Athol Williams, a former partner at Bain SA, testifies at the State Capture Commission in 2021.
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Whistleblowers should be entitled to financial support. But that has potential costs as well as benefits.
A better understanding of dopamine could lead to better treatments for neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental diseases, among others.
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From dopamine hacking to dopamine detoxes, some people have sought to harness this brain chemical to improve their mood and productivity. But it’s far more complicated than that.
Students with ADHD who get a daily report card had 4.5 fewer rule violations per 30-minute class than those without one, one study found.
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Traditional report cards sent home every few months are fine for most students. But for kids with behavioral issues, a daily report card can be a better option.
You can keep placing new bets throughout the whole game.
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Sports wagering apps bring in-play betting right to the palm of your hand. Easy, ever-present access can lead to excitement and fun – or problem gambling.
Creativity has many academic, professional and personal benefits.
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Art classes and STEM toys are nice, but there are simple and free ways parents can encourage their child’s creativity – or keep it from getting squashed.
Schools believe that rewards recognise the pupils’ hard work and academic achievements.
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Mouse brains produce random, strong bursts of dopamine and are able to control them. This may challenge many long-held ideas about learning and motivation.
New research demonstrates that it is more difficult to learn something new if the information had been rewarded in the past. In fact, the higher the reward, the worse the future learning.
Learning is rewarding.
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Whether the sins of our past stay with us forever has become a pertinent question of our time. A philosopher argues we don’t need to carry our past burdens – although there are some moral conditions.
The longer they keep you plugged in to a game, the better it is for the house.
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When you engage in recreational gambling, you’re not simply playing against the odds – you’re battling an enemy trained in the art of deceit and subterfuge who uses human nature against you.
What are your in-groups and out-groups?
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Our neural circuits lead us to find comfort in those like us and unease with those who differ, resulting in a battle between reward and distrust. But these brain connections aren’t the end of the story.
Eating a delicious doughnut now seems more rewarding than the nebulous concept of “better future health”.
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People tend to value potential future rewards less than similar immediate rewards when they must choose between them. Psychologists and economists call this “delay discounting”.
What’s going on in there when you decide?
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The Pokemon GO craze has tapped in to our desire to seek out rewards. But there different types of rewards in life, each designed to capture our attention, even train our behaviour.