Scientific Definition
Neurotransmitter of anticipation, not pleasure.
Plain-English Definition
Neurotransmitter of anticipation, not pleasure.
Feynman Explanation
Dopamine is the brain's promise, not its reward.
Core Principle
Neurotransmitter of anticipation, not pleasure.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Neurotransmitter of anticipation, not pleasure.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Dopamine is the brain's promise, not its reward.
Examples
- Phone notifications fire dopamine on the buzz, not on the message content.
- Every reward system is really a dopamine system.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Design for the anticipation curve, not just the payoff.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Design for the anticipation curve, not just the payoff.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
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Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
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