76. People Are Programmed to Enjoy Surprises

Your Brain and Surprises

• Berns (2001) shows that the human brain not only looks for the unexpected it actually craves it.
• Activity in the nucleus accumbens, the part of the brain that is active when people experience pleasurable events lights up when there is a surprise.
• Not all surprises are equal, they get different neurons activated.
• Here's Why You Get So Excited By Surprises! (Embed)

Takeaways

• Things that are new and novel capture attention.
• Providing something unexpected not only gets attention, but also can be actually pleasurable.
• Although a certain amount of consistency (at a website, for example) is a good thing, if people are trying to complete a task, providing novel and unexpected content and interactions is good if you want people to try something new, or if you want them to come back to see what's new.