For today’s session in The Neuroscience of Learning the topic of how the use of rewards leads to good habits was discussed. Habits are eventually formed when a behavior is repeated many times and stored in the basal ganglia. For example, when first learning to ride a bicycle, a ton of cognitive space is used to focus on all the moving parts, but eventually the behavior essentially becomes automatized and we do not think much about the processes involved.
Habit building essentially has three parts. The first is a cue (i.e., a signal to begin some behavior), the second is a routine (i.e., repeated actions), and the third is a reward. The reward is important in that it serves as motivation to actually do the behavior in the first place.
Overall, neuroscience research shows that tempting people with rewards is more powerful than punishment.
In my own classes, I often have trouble getting students to do their homework, despite knowing that they will lose points from their final grade. After viewing this lecture I will need to consider some sort of positive reinforcement for completing homework starting from the next academic year.