{"id":1010,"date":"2023-08-04T12:44:51","date_gmt":"2023-08-04T12:44:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.incentivesmart.com\/blog\/\/"},"modified":"2025-04-04T09:44:34","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T09:44:34","slug":"the-dopamine-files-what-really-happens-when-were-rewarded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.incentivesmart.com\/blog\/the-dopamine-files-what-really-happens-when-were-rewarded\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dopamine Files: What Really Happens When We\u2019re Rewarded?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There are few things more motivating than the promise of reward.<\/p>\n<p>Whether you\u2019re standing at a claw machine patiently tussling with the pathetically loose grip of the claw, or you\u2019re rounding the final corner in the marathon and listening to those first few cheers of the crowd, the promise of\u00a0<em>something good<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 particularly when you know you\u2019ve earned that\u00a0<em>something good<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 is a feeling we all love to experience, and to look back on fondly.<\/p>\n<p>Often, that promise alone is enough to get you pushing a little harder or coming back for a little more \u2013 even if it means wasting all your change on the claw machine.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s no mystery why rewards are motivating. Rewards are, by definition, things we want \u2013 they\u2019re something that makes expending energy or time or money worthwhile. That much doesn\u2019t really need explaining.<\/p>\n<p>But motivation is an interesting phenomenon. Whether you\u2019re looking to drum up business through\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.incentivesmart.com\/customer-loyalty\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">loyalty incentives<\/a>\u00a0or get a flagging workforce or channel reinspired, understanding how motivation really works \u2013 the difference that the right rewards bring to the table \u2013 is the key to maximising positive behaviours.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There are few things more motivating than the promise of reward. Whether you\u2019re standing at a claw machine patiently tussling&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":1011,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","topics-customer-loyalty"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Dopamine Files: What Really Happens When We\u2019re Rewarded? | Incentivesmart<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.incentivesmart.com\/blog\/the-dopamine-files-what-really-happens-when-were-rewarded\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Dopamine Files: What Really Happens When We\u2019re Rewarded? | Incentivesmart\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There are few things more motivating than the promise of reward. 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