REWARD SYSTEM –
July 15, 2026 – Stanford team’s examination of 157 clinical trials of treatments for cocaine, including both psychotherapy and medications, found little clinical benefit with one notable exception: contingency management, a program that leverages motivational incentives, or “carrots,” to help shift an addict’s behavior.
Methamphetamine — despite its reputation as being more addictive than cocaine and certainly more damaging to the brain — was shown to be similarly responsive to contingency management.
In a typical scenario, a participant who provides a negative drug test receives a reward — a “reinforcer” — such as vouchers, small amounts of cash or the opportunity to draw from a prize bowl. Reward schedules are sometimes arranged so that each subsequent reinforcer is slightly larger than the last. If a drug test is returned positive, the value of the reward for that person is reset to a lower value.
