When you experience something new, something unfamiliar, the act tickles a part of your brain called the ventral striatum. A new flavor jamba juice? Ventral Striatum. The daily special at your favorite restaurant? Ventral Striatum.

This is the same brain-zone that responds to eating and intercourse - acts that are not only enjoyable, but essential for the survival and propagation of the human race. Your brain is built to seek out and experience new things.

As a child, this hardwiring begets eating bugs, burning yourself, and playing doctor. As an adult, this sense of adventure leads to vacations, new relationships, and - according to one study - is a major influence on your interaction with brands & their products.

What do we have here?

Something new? AND familiar? Wait ... why don't i like it?

The study went like this:

A group of adults were provided a set of cards and told to pick one. The majority of the cards yielded no reward. A few cards - when selected - rewarded the subjects with money. Over time, new cards were introduced.

The subjects repeatedly chose the new cards with the hopes of new rewards, in spite of the familiar cards they knew would pay them. The pursuit of novelty drove the behavior of the group. What’s more, when faced with the option of sampling something new, the activity within each card-pickers brain matched the activity you’d expect to see in someone having sex or eating food. Your brain loves New.

Go stand in front of the fridge at your local bodega. Check out all the NEW! you see. Marketers know how your brain works. Sometimes it works - Mocha Frappacino - sometimes it doesn’t - Crystal Pepsi.

Of course, a DIFFERENT study from two years ago found that your brain LOVES familiar brand names. So now you’ve got a brain that craves new experiences, but feels safest when it’s dealing with familiar brands.

Where does that leave us? With a clear, scientific understanding of what the hell brands are thinking when they barely change their logo or intro a new flavor. Try to keep this in mind the next time you’re out spending your hard earned duckets. Don’t let you brain boss you around. You hate acai berries.

Via What I Learned Today