It's About Learning

Spock was my favourite Star Trek character because he was so logical and rational. As a young man I sought out the facts and tried to emulate that calm, logical and rational perspective that I saw in my Vulcan role model. For many years I really believed I was making all my decision based on purely cognitive calculations. I took this to the next level and majored in Philosophy as an undergraduate and even started a Masters in Philosophy. Despite my desire to be logical and rational I struggled with aspects of my life that couldn’t be so easily explained by logic and continually strived to develop my reason to a high enough level where I would be able to control my passions and desires. As the years progressed my studies shifted to include a bit of Psychology but I still tried to explain away everything from a purely logical or rational perspective.

In the past 10 years, I have shifted my thinking based on sound research to recognize that the head won’t go where the heart hasn’t been and now I recognize that we aren’t a logical and rational as we hope to be. I really wished I would have come across the following research-based ideas that confirm that we are motivated and perhaps even controlled by intangibles or the affective domain much more than tangibles and the cognitive domain:

Are we in control of our decisions? | Dan Ariely –

Ariely, D. (2016). Payoff: The hidden logic that shapes our motivations. Simon & Schuster/TED.

Science Of Persuasion | Robert Cialdini

Cialdini, R. B. (2008). Influence: Science and practice (5th ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

How to Use Pre-suasive Tactics on Others – and Yourself | Robert Cialdini

Cialdini, R. B. (2016). Pre-Suasion: A revolutionary way to influence and persuade. New York NY: Simon and Schuster.

While we are on the topic of motivations I don’t think I can leave off Daniel Pink’s seminal works:

RSA ANIMATE: Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us

Pink, D. H. (2011). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New York, NY: Penguin.

The article Rethinking How Students Succeed in The Standford Social Innovation Review points a wave of noncognitive skill initiatives (affective domain) that holds promise for making teachers more effective and students more successful. The article also points to research shows that students who develop social and emotional learning (SEL) skills and academic mindsets (for example, a belief that one’s abilities can improve with effort) do better in school.

Whenever you mention the growth mindset it is imperative to point to Carol Dweck’s work Growth Mindset: New Psychology for Success

Most people would like to believe that we make informed decision based on the data or evidence and that if you want to convinces someone that your new idea, proposal, or plan is really in the best interest for everyone then all you need to do is present the facts in a clear and concise way. But what does the science or data behind this thinking really say. Robert Cialdini has been researching how and why people comply to requests and his popular book Influence: Science & Practice is the culmination of decades of research that outlines the six universal Principles of Persuasion that explains how to structure your requests. The following video summaries those six principles:

Cialdini’s most recent book Pre-Suasion: A Revolutionary Way to Influence and Persuade builds on his research into persuasion and reveals methods of priming your audience to receive your message more openly.

If we really want to have people adopt our ideas and move forward with our plans then we must look past this notion that all we need to present the data or evidence and believe that people make informed decisions solely on the information. Not only will the head not go where the heart hasn’t been the head is open to influence from many other sources so we really need to recognize that just presenting the information or more information is not enough.