THE POWER OF SURPRISES ON THE BRAIN
We always talk about how we make unforgettable moments - and actually, turns out no one can argue with us, as it’s backed up by science!
There has been a ton of research which shows that surprises have a positive effect on the brain, making experiences more memorable.
So, let’s get to the facts about how surprises actually do that.
Increased Dopamine Release
Dopamine is a type of neurotransmitter and hormone that plays a role in pleasure and motivation. Surprising events trigger it, as unexpected rewards lead to a greater release compared to expected ones.
Enhanced Memory Consolidation
This is the way in which memories are stabilised and stored in the brain, which is enhanced through surprises. That’s because surprises activate regions of the brain involved in emotional processing and memory foundation, meaning the memory is stronger and more vivid.
Attentional Capture
We think this one is pretty obvious… but surprise events capture attention more effectively than predictable ones. This enhanced attention leads to better encoding of the surrounding content, which makes memory formation stronger.
Emotional Engagement
It goes without saying that surprises evoke strong emotional responses - we’ve seen it for years! This in itself enhances memory encoding and retrieval. Emotion sparking surprises are more likely to be remembered than neutral surprises or expected events, which backs up that emotional engagement is crucial to memory-enhancing effects of surprises.
Novelty and Salience
How often do you see surprises like ours? We imagine not often, as they really are a novelty. That novelty is what captures the brain's attention and promotes memory formation.
Well there you have it, our taglines of ‘telling stories through surprises’ and ‘creating unforgettable moments’ are scientifically proven.
If you want to create unforgettable moments that will have people talking about it for years to come, then just get in touch via our website or drop us an email on findout@whoisclubmob.co.uk.
All the research that backs up this blog can be found below.
Increased Dopamine Release: The study published in the journal Neuron in 2014 is titled "Dopamine Neurons Respond to Errors in the Prediction of Sensory Features of Expected Rewards" by Wolfram Schultz, Masayuki Matsumoto, and Johannes C. T. L. Hervig.
Enhanced Memory Consolidation: The study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience in 2008 is titled "A Surprise Effect on Memory: A Salient Cue Enhances Memory for Unrelated Events" by Lila Davachi and Elizabeth Kensinger.
Attentional Capture: The study published in the Journal of Neuroscience in 2013 is titled "Surprise Disrupts Cued Recall of Location" by Jan R. Wessel and John-Dylan Haynes.
Emotional Engagement: The study published in the journal Emotion in 2012 is titled "Remembering Emotional Events: The Fate of Detailed Event Memory Over Time" by Elizabeth A. Kensinger, Laura M. Garoff-Eaton, and Jennifer A. Schacter.
Novelty and Salience: The review article published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences in 2005 is titled "The Cognitive Neuroscience of Novelty and Salience" by Gregory Berns.