Do you think

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Rewards are more rewarding when you expect them, or when you don't?

Unexpected.

That's confusing...if you don't expect it it's more a gift than a reward.

unexpected.

Can't a gift be a reward? hhhmmm.... I was recently given a gift of a violin because I had been working very hard and my parents were impressed with my progress. It's sort of like a reward. But it's a gift, too. Dunno, Pistonhead.

The fact that it was unexpected really made it even better, though.

Yes, I mean reward in a very wide sense; gifts, hugs, loves, doing crossword puzzles; whatever; things that make your brain happy.

Aha. The sort of non-object rewards didn't occur to me.

I think that they're better when they're unexpected.

Unexpected

That is super-complex question though.

Sometimes, imagination can be strong enough to simulate partly the reward, so when we get effectively the reward, the experience can be weaker. On the other hand if you work hard for a goal for a couple of years, you get an overwhelming sense of achievement when you succeed.

The unexpected reward is about a good surprise too, surprise alone adds value to the experience. But because an unexpected reward can be experienced at a lower level than it should be, we might often regret later that we did not fully experiment the moment.

Yes. My poll and question were a bit ill thought out really, but I was feeling a bit random last night.



I guess that's what is called anticipation.



Yes, I am interested in why deferred rewards are pleasurable. The Long Term vs. Short Term pleasures.



That's one reason why I recommend meditation practice; so people can learn to be more fully present with their experiences in the present moments.

Thank you all for your responses.

What determines how rewarding a reward is; is the reward it's self

Unexpected. An example; celebrating unbirthdays, and general giving and receiving is always far more fun when not expected.

Last edited by Geist on 29 Nov 2010, 8:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

That's a really good question. I'd say unexpected because then you don't have any preconceived ideas about how great the reward will be.

Let's cut it down to see what we have:
- Happiness (the reward-meter)
- Time (Duration between stuff)
- Rewarding process (the cube of sugar dispenser)
- Conscientiousness (as expectation and experience of the reward)

That's a lot of possible combinations. I'll take happiness as the center of the reasoning:
-There are 2 totally independent forms of happiness: the happiness on each experience and the happiness about oneself
-The happiness of the experience is the one that can be modified by money (income as expenses)
-The happiness about your life is function of your memory, the happiness about your life and who you are
-Both are affected by conscientiousness (of the moment, of what you remember)
-Time DO NOT count for the intensity of happiness of one experience: happiness for 3 days of vacation = happiness for 30 days of vacation
-Happiness and pain of an experience is not a linear function, it is how a mixed experience ends that matters
-Of course everything is function of your rewarding process that can be malfunctioning too (like a cycle of low self esteem)
-Having no conscientiousness of the differences between the 2 kinds of happiness can mess the rewarding process: I won't fully enjoy the moment because I (wrongfully) think that I have a crappy life

I think meditation is good for many other reasons, rationalizing past mixed experiences to highlight the good moments and it is a pleasurable experience to have.

I'd rather be rewarded when i'm expecting it. Unexpected anything makes me uneasy especially something like a reward, compliment, and even food for some strange reason