Coffee/tea. Twice in the past week, during extremely busy shifts at work, one of the doctors has decided to buy Tim Hortons for all the nurses. I can’t think of any other single event that has made me as happy (albeit for a short 5-minute time period.)
I remember a few years ago I was reading about positive psychology’s various findings, such as that spending money on experiences with friends or family made one happier than spending money on an object for oneself; so I tried out buying donuts or bagels for a few university clubs. Everyone seemed much happier, for what was a relatively trivial amount of money invested (<$10 in every case).
(I don’t remember noticing that the donut people were happier than the bagel people.)
Any non-sugary food related reinforcer?
Coffee/tea. Twice in the past week, during extremely busy shifts at work, one of the doctors has decided to buy Tim Hortons for all the nurses. I can’t think of any other single event that has made me as happy (albeit for a short 5-minute time period.)
Perhaps it’s just the unexpected generosity.
I remember a few years ago I was reading about positive psychology’s various findings, such as that spending money on experiences with friends or family made one happier than spending money on an object for oneself; so I tried out buying donuts or bagels for a few university clubs. Everyone seemed much happier, for what was a relatively trivial amount of money invested (<$10 in every case).
(I don’t remember noticing that the donut people were happier than the bagel people.)
Cheese would work well as a reinforcement for me. Also the proverbial carrot. And probably lots of other things.
Dark chocolate?