Learning from People We Like
Feb. 18th, 2024 04:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThe brain is 'programmed' for learning from people we like
Our brains are 'programmed' to learn more from people we like -- and less from those we dislike. This has been shown by researchers in cognitive neuroscience in a series of experiments.
The article primarily looks at political implications. But my first thought was school. Because public school is badly designed, most children hate it -- and often hate the teachers too. This makes sense because many teachers are mediocre, some are terrible, and some are downright vicious to students. If dislike undermines learning, then all the teachers who say things like, "I'm your teacher, not your friend," or "You're here to learn from me, not to like me," are dead wrong and undermining their own job. If people actually cared about students learning, and paid a little attention to psychology, they would arrange classes in small groups to encourage social ties and customize lessons to individual needs. This is what some alternative schools do. And of course, there's the fact that public education takes children away from the people they already like and learn from: their relatives. So it's just generally rowing against the current.
Both in school and in other educational contexts, you need to watch for gaps that promote dislike. If a white person is trying to teach black people about nutrition, and the black people are wary of white people, then less learning will happen; whereas if you hired a black nutritionist, more learning will probably happen. Ethnicity, religion, sex/gender, all the diversity aspects can work for or against learning based on how people feel about each other. And if you have a mixed group, it's probably less prone to that kind of gap issue than if the audience is all one way and the speaker another.
Related aspects touch on the quality of teaching and learning. If you dislike someone because their tastes, lifestyle, etc. differ greatly from your own, then there may be less overlap between what they can teach and what you want to learn. Someone you like may have more congruent knowledge to share. (Of course, for someone neophilic, difference is a good thing.) If you dislike someone for being an asshole, chances are that person is bad at teaching, because teaching requires patience and communication skills. Plus it's prudent to avoid people you dislike because they might decide to hog resources or even attack you; learning from someone you like is safer.
On the bright side, if you do any teaching, this is super useful information. It tells you that establishing a positive connection with students makes your job easier and more effective. You can even tell people about this and ask them what they think about it.
Another application is where you already have a positive connection -- your friends and family, maybe folks in your neighborhood or clubs. If you want to learn something, think whether anyone you like could teach you. Think about skill-sharing as an activity for groups.
Our brains are 'programmed' to learn more from people we like -- and less from those we dislike. This has been shown by researchers in cognitive neuroscience in a series of experiments.
The article primarily looks at political implications. But my first thought was school. Because public school is badly designed, most children hate it -- and often hate the teachers too. This makes sense because many teachers are mediocre, some are terrible, and some are downright vicious to students. If dislike undermines learning, then all the teachers who say things like, "I'm your teacher, not your friend," or "You're here to learn from me, not to like me," are dead wrong and undermining their own job. If people actually cared about students learning, and paid a little attention to psychology, they would arrange classes in small groups to encourage social ties and customize lessons to individual needs. This is what some alternative schools do. And of course, there's the fact that public education takes children away from the people they already like and learn from: their relatives. So it's just generally rowing against the current.
Both in school and in other educational contexts, you need to watch for gaps that promote dislike. If a white person is trying to teach black people about nutrition, and the black people are wary of white people, then less learning will happen; whereas if you hired a black nutritionist, more learning will probably happen. Ethnicity, religion, sex/gender, all the diversity aspects can work for or against learning based on how people feel about each other. And if you have a mixed group, it's probably less prone to that kind of gap issue than if the audience is all one way and the speaker another.
Related aspects touch on the quality of teaching and learning. If you dislike someone because their tastes, lifestyle, etc. differ greatly from your own, then there may be less overlap between what they can teach and what you want to learn. Someone you like may have more congruent knowledge to share. (Of course, for someone neophilic, difference is a good thing.) If you dislike someone for being an asshole, chances are that person is bad at teaching, because teaching requires patience and communication skills. Plus it's prudent to avoid people you dislike because they might decide to hog resources or even attack you; learning from someone you like is safer.
On the bright side, if you do any teaching, this is super useful information. It tells you that establishing a positive connection with students makes your job easier and more effective. You can even tell people about this and ask them what they think about it.
Another application is where you already have a positive connection -- your friends and family, maybe folks in your neighborhood or clubs. If you want to learn something, think whether anyone you like could teach you. Think about skill-sharing as an activity for groups.
