A thread
Why does Google Pay offer a scratch card instead of an assured cashback?
Why does Google Pay offer a scratch card instead of an assured cashback?
Every time we receive a reward(e.g. cashback) our brain releases a good dose of the happy hormone — dopamine. In moderate doses, it helps regulate our wellbeing. In large doses, it can lead to addiction. Long story short, our brains crave dopamine. But then there's a catch.
Back in the 1950s, BF Skinner a famed psychologist ran an experiment where he offered lab rats food pellets if they pressed a lever. Lever A would bring down pellets of the same size every time. Lever B would offer pellets of different sizes
i.e. sometimes you’d get a smaller pellet, sometimes a larger one and sometimes none at all. And the rats kept going crazy for the randomized lever. This experiment provided the scientific basis for using ‘Variable Rewards” to condition human behavior.
It turns out, our brain releases more dopamine in the anticipation of rewards than the reward itself. When the rewards are fixed and we know what to anticipate, our dopamine levels stay in check.
But when the rewards are variable, our brain relentlessly seeks the thrill of unlocking large payouts.
A scratch card is a gateway to a large payout and that's how GooglePay hooks you.
A scratch card is a gateway to a large payout and that's how GooglePay hooks you.
