Deep within our subconscious we are obsessed with ourselves, drawn to things that reflect us or look like us.

We’re  deeply connected to the letters of our name, for example.  So much so, in the aftermath of natural disasters like cyclones or hurricanes we’ll donate a good deal more money to relief efforts if the cyclone or hurricane’s name starts with the same letters as our own!

That’s one of the unusual and surprising nuggets of psychological research author Adam Alter unwraps in his book Drunk Tank Pink.

People pay more attention to what  attracts them, and what attracts them is …. things about themselves!   And we can use this self-focus for the good, he explains, and make our learning relevant and personal.

It comes in handy to understand the forces that shape the world-in-our-heads, and Alter says names, labels and symbols hold incredible sway.  They work away in our subconscious and prime our thoughts and behaviours.

Labels change learning outcomes

“Reinforcement in the mind is so powerful – it is absolutely critical not to use negative labels early on,” Alter says.

He cites the example of classroom experiments conducted by psychologists where teachers were told to expect rapid intellectual development in children who had been randomly labelled as bloomers. And that’s exactly what happened.  At the end of the year, the ‘bloomers’ were 15 IQ points above the other children.

Alter says people who adopt the label ‘disabled’ are primed to believe that other people are treating them strangely or unfairly merely because they bear a visible scar. “People become paralysed by the prospect  that others will judge them for the label and this anxiety is enough to hamper the progress of (say) a fledgling friendship.”

Symbols can promote a style of thinking

He describes symbols as the “great global common denominator” and says they are so powerful because we perceive them simply with a glance.

As magnets for meaning, symbols prime us for particular thoughts and behaviours. He gives the example of turning on a light bulb while students were working out a problem. This primed them with the concept of insight, which in turn primed past occasions they needed insight, putting them into the right mindset for a “new brush with insight.”

“Part of the trick to solving problems is recognising that they require a particular style of thinking,” Alter says.

If we take this into the adult-learning context, we can take a step back from Drunk Tank Pink now and look at motivation, since motivation usually precedes problem solving.

And adult learners are most engaged when the information and ideas  solve problems they’re presently faced with.

‘What’s in it for me’ learning

Motivation is pivotal to learning, so let’s delve into the key to motivating learners.

Motivating learners  means stimulating them to be involved.  We can encourage involvement by purposely using a wide range of behaviours to reflect interest and enthusiasm in the subject.  But there must be something ‘in it for me’  to drive the learner in the first place, author Bill Lucas explains in his book, Power up your mind.

Adult learners tend to have a ‘just in time’ approach, learning something just when they need it.   The ‘what’s in it for me’ formula helps us work out the relevance of learning at a life stage, Lucas explains.

The what’s in it for me formula is:   R + P + V + I = M

R (readiness)  plus P (the likelihood learning will be successful, overcome barriers) plus V (the anticipated value) plus I (impact on life, opportunities, the degree to which you will be more fulfilled)  equals M (the motivation you have)

“We all need to “learn to learn”  and to do that we need to be in the right emotional state. “Most importantly you need to have actively switched on your mind, ”  Lucas says.