Most of us agree that rewards are motivational, but do we know what kinds of rewards deliver the most motivational impact in incentive and recognition settings? A century ago, Elton MacDonald, who is credited with selling the first incentive program using merchandise as a reward, discovered two key pillars of the motivational power of rewards. In this episode, we explore the behavioral science behind those motivational powers. First, we discuss how the best reward is hedonic – in order to engage our emotions. Second, it needs to be luxurious – in order to engage our attention. With the help of a field expert, Mark Smith, senior rewards director at One10 and two academic researchers, Scott Jeffrey, PhD from Monmouth University and Jana Gallus, PhD from UCLA’s Anderson School of Business, we unpack the behavioral science and best practices on how to use rewards.