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Tag: reward

Your Habits Give You Away — As Companies Damn Well Know

Posted on February 16, 2012 by David Dobbs · 1 Comment

There are, however, some brief periods in a person’s life when old routines fall apart and buying habits are suddenly in flux. One of those moments — the moment, really — is right around the birth of a child, when parents are exhausted and overwhelmed and their shopping patterns and brand loyalties are up for […]

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Sapolsky on Dopamine: Not About Pleasure, But Its Anticipation

Posted on July 29, 2011 by David Dobbs · Leave a comment

It’s ridiculous how many things Robert Sapolsky talks about beautifully. Here he’s on a roll about how dopamine drives behavior: It’s not about reward, but its anticipation. And we humans have done well — we’ve developed these splendid executive skills and planning and so on — because these big ol’ brains can maintain that anticipation […]

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About

I write features, reviews, and essays for The New York Times, National Geographic, Aeon, Mosaic, Slate, and other publications. I am also the author of three books, as well as the Atavist hit My Mother’s Lover, the true strange story of my mother's secret wartime affair, which became a # 1 best-selling Kindle Single, and which readers of the longform publisher The Atavist selected as their favorite Atavist publication. You can keep track of me at Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and Facebook. For my reading recommendations in my daily newsletter, Read Two of These and Call Me in the Morning., sign up either here or in the form below.

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