Two-thirds of those with premium cards say they like to do everything they can to maximize rewards from their cards, according to a Visa survey released last year.

Humans are also born with a very large prefrontal cortex, a higher brain region involved in planning that taps into an ancient system for predicting what is rewarding and making decisions to maximize rewards and avoid punishments.

According to the theory human interaction is like an economic transaction, in that you may seek to maximize rewards and minimize costs.

"That's the ultimate purpose of copyright - to promote knowledge and discussion, not just to maximize rewards to copyright owners."

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Groups can maximize collective rewards by developing accepted systems for equitably apportioning rewards and costs among members.

The more obvious point is that people do things to maximize rewards and minimize punishments.

These patterns describe behavioral rules or norms that indicate how people trade resources in an attempt to maximize rewards and minimize costs.

But in a broader sense it encapsulates fundamental tradeoffs: between individual and collective responsibility, market forces and government, and maximizing rewards and minimizing risks.