Feeling good about our actions — not guilt or pity— motivates giving, according to the latest research.
reward
This Is Your Brain on Facebook
That little zing you get when someone “likes” your picture or sings your praises on Facebook? That’s the reward center in your brain getting a boost.
Mothers Who Smoke While Pregnant Put Kids at Risk of Substance Abuse
Exposure to cigarette smoke in the womb may interfere with the brain‘s reward system, and make children more vulnerable to addictions.
Your Drive to Compete May Come Down to Dopamine
Are you the kind of person who is always “on,” constantly driven to achieve? Or are you more of a slacker type, less motivated by the promise of material reward?
Decision-Making Under Stress: The Brain Remembers Rewards, Forgets Punishments
It’s counterintuitive, but under stress we tend to focus more on the rewards than on the risks of any decision.
Can Tanning Be “Addictive”? Not So Fast
We’ve all seen the headlines about sex, food and rock-and-roll “lighting up” the same brain regions as drugs. The latest? “Tanning Bed Users’ Brains Like Addicts’,” claims the UPI, citing a new study.
Why That Rich Guy is Being So Nice to You
There are a lot of ways to make people not like you, but one of the most powerful — if least fair — is to be really, really successful.
It’s True: We Shop Till it Hurts
Feel like going out to dinner at that trendy new spot but can’t justify paying $120 for the tasting menu everyone’s talking about? Then take a date, spend twice as much and call it an investment in the relationship. There, that …
Forget Pain Pills, Fall in Love Instead
Do you believe that love conquers all? If you do, you probably won’t be surprised by the following study. It turns out that being in love can actually dull pain perception. What’s more, it works in a different way that painkillers do.