Compliments and Money Give the Same Satisfaction

People can be rewarded by compliment or by cash as the brain evaluates both the same.

Dr Norihiro Sadato of National Institute for Physiological Sciences in Okazaki, Japan said that different kinds of reward activate the same area in the brain called striatum.

The findings of the study prove that boosting one's reputation gives a person psychological reward.

During a study, 19 people took part in the experiments where their brain activity was monitored with the help of fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) method.

In the first experiment, participants were offered to play a gambling game in which a person could receive a cash reward.

During the second experiment, participants were told that other people evaluated them according to the answers participants had given in the questionnaires and from the videos.

The researchers monitored the brain activity when a person received a compliment or a cash reward. The brain scans showed that both psychological and money reward activated the same area in the brain.

The results of the study may explain some peculiarities of social behavior like altruism and proves that social reward is essential for people. As researchers explain it is all about the need to belong which is very important for humans.