The Winner Effect

Why Getting Vacation Schemes is Easy for Some

February 25, 2024

Hey,

When looking at students that get training contracts, I see a recurring pattern.

They have more than one insight scheme / vacation scheme.

I read about someone that had 6 vacation schemes. They know the process. They know what they must do to get there.

But this got me thinking — Is there anything else I’m missing?

Going down the rabbit hole I found about the winner effect:

In a fascinating experiment, two mice were set to fight each other.

We’ll name them mouse A and mouse B. Mouse B was given a drug prior to the fight to ensure it loses the fight. Needless to say, mouse A won.

Here’s where it gets interesting.

The two mice were set to fight again. This time there were no drugs involved. Mouse A won again.

This is known as the winner effect.

Meaning the more you win the more you will win.

But why does it work?

Winning sparks changes in the brain that prime us for more success. It boosts the number of receptors for "victory hormones" like dopamine and testosterone, making their effects stronger. This process tunes the brain to anticipate and secure more victories, reinforcing a cycle of winning.

The opposite happens when losing.

In the next email I’ll be exploring ways we can use this to our advantage.

Until next Sunday,

Alin George

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⚖️ This week in Law History — Compiled by Afreen Ali

  • 25 February 1862 — First Legal Tender Act 1862 is passed by the US Congress, authorising the United States note (greenback) into circulation, the first fiat paper money that was legal tender in America

First $1 Note

  • 26 February 1797 — The Bank of England issues the first ever one pound note, in part a result of the panic in London caused by the French invasion of Fishguard.

First £1 Note

  • 27 February 2023 — The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022 comes into force today. From this date, 16 and 17-year-olds in England and Wales cannot marry or enter into a civil partnership, even if they have the consent of their parents or the court.

  • 28 February 1933 — The Decree of the Reich President for the Protection of the People and the State was one of a series of key decrees, legislative acts, and case law in the gradual process by which the Nazi leadership moved Germany from a democracy to a dictatorship.

  • 29 February 1692 — First people are accused of witchcraft in the Salem Witch Trials.

  • 1 March 2005 — In a major capital punishment case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to execute convicts who were under age 18 at the time of their crimes.

  • 2 March — The Queen signed the Australia Act in Canberra. The Act resolved the anomalous power of the United Kingdom's parliament to legislate over the individual Australian states, a power that it had exercised since colonial times.

  • 3 March — The Statute of Rhuddlan (also known as the Statutes of Wales) was enacted 'On This Day'. It introduced the English common law system to Wales, allowing the King to appoint royal officials such as sheriffs, coroners and bailiffs to collect taxes and administer justice.

📆 Upcoming Law Events — Compiled by Anca Andreea Aurica

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Monday 26 February

Tuesday 27 February

Wednesday 28 February

Thursday 29 February

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