Mental Health Notes

Which Is Better For Your Brain: Compliments Or Money?

by Alicia Sparks, NAMI Affiliation Leader on May 5th, 2008

If given the choice, would you rather win the lottery or receive a compliment?

Many of you are probably thinking, “Give me the cash!” However, according to the Japanese National Institute for Physiological Sciences in Okazaki, receiving a compliment activates the same area of your brain that’s activated when you receive cash. You may be just as thrilled - or more thrilled - to receive the compliments.

During this research, Dr. Norihiro Sadato and his team used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to look at the brains of 19 “healthy” people during to experiments. The first involved the people playing a gambling game; the second involved evaluations and compliments from strangers.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) conducted similar research involving social status and how it affects our behavior and health.

As far as I can see, however, it appears that the money part of both of these experiments was money the participants won by gambling, playing games, etc. - not money that was given to them for a good performance. So, I’m wondering…if it came down to being complimented for “a job well done” or being given cash for “a job well done,” would we still be as excited about the compliments as we would be the cash? Because, in this instance, wouldn’t the cash be kind of the same as a compliment?

What do you think?

Image: Newscom

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