“Learning, unlearning, and relearning action-outcome associations are necessary to optimize gains and minimize losses in uncertain environments”… said every entrepreneur ever.
So did a group of Swedish researchers in their recent paper published in Nature Communications, “Dopamine release in human associative striatum during reversal learning“
This super interesting study uncovered a fascinating insight that could be valuable for entrepreneurs – the relationship between dopamine and how we respond to errors or failures. The study demonstrated that dopamine (the neurotransmitter associated with motivation and reward) plays a key role in how we adjust our strategies in response to changing scenarios, particularly in how we learn from mistakes.
The Experiment
The researchers’ experiment asked participants to play a game that had them guess whether a hidden number was either above or below five. Correct guesses were rewarded and incorrect ones were not. However, the rewards changed randomly during the game, creating periods of stability and volatility designed to replicate real-world conditions where a choice perceived to be correct can suddenly become incorrect – a situation entrepreneurs face often as they try to adapt to new information that arises.
PET scans were used to detect changes in dopamine levels in the brain and fMRI scans measured cerebral blood flow to determine which regions of the brain that activated during the game.
The Results
The study found that dopamine increased in participant’s striatum (the brain region associated with reward processing) when the game’s rules switched from stable to volatile. This suggested that dopamine plays a key role making changes to strategy. The more dopamine released, the quicker the adjustment participants made to the game’s changing rules. However, participants that released more dopamine did not perform better at the game. Rather it was those that released a moderate amount of dopamine that had the best performance.
Relevance to Entrepreneurs
This study may hold a valuable lesson for entrepreneurs. Being overly-sensitive to miestakes and failures won’t lead to the best outcomes. Instead, operating in a ‘Goldilocks’ zone of sensitivity, where a balanced response to errors—not too little, not too much—leads to the best outcomes. This middle ground allows entrepreneurs to learn and grow from mistakes rather than being overwhelmed by them.
So the old adage that entrepreneurs should embrace failures as part of the journey is actually supported by neuroscience. And a balanced approach to risk-taking and decision-making, where we learn from errors instead of operate in fear of them, is the likely path to optimal outcomes.
How Entrepreneurs Can Manage Dopaminergic Response to Mistakes
Set Realistic Expectations
Breaking big goals down into smaller achievable ones will moderate dopamine response by better aligning outcomes with expectations.
Cognitive Reframing
Reframe mistakes as valuable feedback rather than errors to moderate emotional and neurochemical responses ot them.
Gradual Exposure
Make small errors in a controlled environment (i.e. dress rehearsals) to comfortably desensitize to mistakes over time.
Stress Management Techniques
Use breathing exercises, meditation, yoga, or progressive muscle relaxation to reduce dopaminergic responses to stress
Reduce Stimulants
Lay off high volumes of caffeine, sugar, and other stimulants to reduce dopamine receptor stimulation.
TL;DR
Swedish scientists discovered that dopamine is a key driver in making decisions under changing conditions. And although more dopamine leads to faster decisions, it also leads to greater sensitivity to mistakes. However, a more moderate release of dopamine allows for less sensitivity to mistakes and, in the end, better results.
Getting comfortable with mistakes and failures in critical to the success of entrepreneurs. By moderating our physiological release and response ot dopamine, we can use our own biology to make the process of “embracing failure” much easier.
Citation:
Grill, F., Guitart-Masip, M., Johansson, J. et al. Dopamine release in human associative striatum during reversal learning. Nat Commun 15, 59 (2024). https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-44358-w
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