A team of Japanese scientists have found scientific proof
that people doing exercises appear to perform better when another person
compliments them. The research was carried out by a group lead by National
Institute for Physiological Sciences Professor Norihiro Sadato, Graduate
University for Advanced Studies graduate student Sho Sugawara, Nagoya Institute
of Technology Tenure-Track Associate Professor Satoshi Tanaka, and in
collaboration with Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology
Associate Professor Katsumi Watanabe. The team had previously discovered that
the same area of the brain, the striatum, is activated when a person is
rewarded a compliment or cash. Their latest research could suggest that when
the striatum is activated, it seems to encourage the person to perform better
during exercises. The paper is published online in PLOS ONE (November 7, 2012,
edition).