Reward prediction error: dopamine fires on anticipation and surprise, not delivery
PrincipleBrand & Creativity
Reward prediction error: dopamine fires on anticipation and surprise, not delivery
Wolfram Schultz's monkey experiments showed dopamine does not fire on the reward itself but on the anticipation and on the error between prediction and reality: once a light reliably preceded juice, the dopamine moved to the light. For marketers this means the gap between anticipation (built by advertising) and delivered reality (the product) is where the emotional payoff - or the letdown - happens.
Source
The Startling Power of Surprise - eatbigfish x Uncensored CMO webinar (Cannes 2026 session) (2026)
Adam Morgan (eatbigfish), Jon Evans (Uncensored CMO)
00:41:46-00:44:21; Wolfram Schultz's reward prediction error research, told by Jon Evans
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