The emotional component of learning
The emotional component of learning
References
The Influences of Emotion on Learning and Memory by Chai M. Tyng, Hafeez U. Amin, Mohamad N. M. Saad, and Aamir S. Malik, Front Psychology 2017; 8: 1454.
Emotions and learning, UNESCO International Bureau of Education, International Academy of Education by Pekrun, Reinhard, IBE/2014/ST/EP24, 2014
The role of emotion in the learning process: Comparisons between online and face-to-face learning settings by Gwen C. Marchand, Antonio P. Gutierrez, Internet and Higher Education 15 (2012) 150–160, 17 October 2011
The Memory Enhancing Effect of Emotion: Functional Neuroimaging Evidence; Florin Dolcos, Kevin S. LaBar, and Roberto Cabeza
Recent developments in neuroscience have achieved important steps in identifying the nature of emotion and the relationship with other psychological processes. Today we have biological data to support the long-shared professional belief of educators, trainers and teachers that emotion greatly influences cognitive processes such as perception, attention, learning, memory, reasoning, and problem solving.
Attention
As we have discovered, when looking at how attention works, the more attention the brain pays, the more complex the ways will be in which it stores the information. So, the more attention we pay, the more and better we learn. Emotion drives our attention by both guiding us in the selection of what to pay attention to, as well as motivating us to keep paying attention. Our brain has a limited attentional capacity and has to make sure to catch all relevant information—this is where emotions come in to help discriminate what is relevant from what is not.
Memory
Emotional relevance is intrinsically related to our memory and supports the encoding and retrieval of information. The emotion strengthens the memory network by enhancing memory consolidation. This is why we remember emotional events better than neutral ones. We also know that there are mechanisms due to which emotion can impair long-term memory retention, such as anxiety or high-level of stress.
Motivation
Positive emotions, such as enjoyment or pride increase learners’ interest and motivation, but only if such emotions are sparked within the learning experience. If a person is happily in love, this may actually distract them from the task at hand. Instead, if related to the learning, positive emotions help to encourage the learning process, the perception of the value of tasks and one’s competence to solve them. They enhance both the interest in the learning material and the intrinsic motivation to learn.
On the other hand, negative emotion such as anxiety, anger, confusion, or boredom generally reduce interest, intrinsic motivation, the ability to use learning strategies and the self-regulation of learning. They can have a positive impact on the learning process as far as such emotion are experienced mildly and the learner is very confident to succeed. In this case, such emotions can boost motivation in order to avoid failure.
Implications for training
- When learning is enjoyed, the learner’s attention is fully focused on the task. Learning should be pleasurable!
- Prevent excessive negative emotions while enabling students to use the drive provided by challenges and unpleasant emotions to boost their learning.
- Raise learners’ confidence in their ability to solve problems and facilitate self-directed learning.
- Mistakes are opportunities to learn rather than failures.
- Choose methods that emphasize social interaction and that engage the entire body because they create the greatest emotional responses. Methods such as simulations, role playing, and cooperative projects, will help students recall the information when needed.
- Emotionally stressful learning environments are counterproductive because they can reduce the learner’s ability to learn. Promote a safe and inclusive learning environment and boost the learner’s sense of control over it.
Food for thought!