Learning, Motivation and Praise: How Do We Truly Learn Best? Part I

          Since taking my USMLE Step 1 Examination, which is required of all allopathically trained medical students after the first 1.5-2 years of a science-based curriculum as a way to prove in some manner that you now know enough science to start learning how medicine is actually practiced in the clinical and hospital setting, I have had a sudden wealth of free time to read anything but lists of drug side effects, CYP450 enzyme interactions and microbial classification schemes. While basking in this freedom, I happened to rather, accidentally, stumble upon three quite profound videos/podcasts/articles all seemingly related to the study of learning, the motivation behind our cognitive endeavors, and the manner in which praise can reinforce these behaviors.

The first insight came from watching Carol Dweck's recent TedTalk "The power of believing you can improve." 

Watch Here:  Carol Dweck and Praise

           In the talk Dweck expounds upon her fascinating research into the motivation of our youth towards academic pursuits. Her work has lead her to propose an overarching construct known as a "Growth Mindset" is used as a way to positively confront life’s challenges. In essence with a "Growth Mindset," we can see failure and difficulty solving our problems as simply "it hasn't happened yet." Investing in the process of learning and attempting to solve one's problems is the true dedication and the fact that today you could not get the answer is not a reflection of your intelligence, or lack thereof, but rather, the reality that "Not Yet" seems much more applicable than "I Am a Failure." The fact that nearly 80-90% of our thoughts on a given day, resulting from the constant activity of the brain's neural circuitry, often have no real reflection on any particular relevance ("truth") ocurring in your life. Some wonderful examples including the thoughts: This is too hard," "I have no time to sleep," I need to go eat something out of a box," can all ultimately be traced back to primarily unconscious electrical signaling. Now we can debate about consciousness and that is something way too big for any post and people spend lifetimes thinking about such constructs, my main point is this: when we approach learning and problems with a "Growth Mindset" and are mindfully aware that the majority of the ideas that come into our head during this process aren't actually reflective of any true beliefs or concerns, we are free to live in the space of genuine, undisrupted thought. We can engage in the process of learning by pursuing excellence and expertise in our given field/work, yet ultimately remain unattached to the final outcome.

         People often tell kids after losing a game or performing poorly on a test, that it’s okay because they tried hard, did their best, and put forth a valiant effort. Assuming the effort was indeed present, this reinforcement is EXACTLY what we need to hear. Adults would laugh in your face saying this is childish and the bitter truth is my job is at stake, or who is going to pay the bills if I crap around all day, but what becomes quite clear is that for those of us who approach our work with a "Growth Mindset" and invest our energy in pursuing excellence by utilizing the utmost focus IN THE PROCESS of our work, ultimately will be rewarded with satisfying results. And if the satisfying results do not come from this precise and mindful effort, then one can step back and say, “Is there something wrong with the process I am using?”

         As Peter Attia on the Eating Academy has said so brilliantly on his blog, the fact that millions of Americans suffer from debilitating obesity, insulin resistance and the Metabolic Syndrome, despite following all the current USDA, ADA, or AHA nutritional recommendations, in addition to any recommendations for daily exercise, presents a rather interesting conundrum: Are the people not "trying" hard enough or is there something wrong with the process? Lucky for us, we have people like Dr. Attia and NUSI to spend the time to research and analyze “THE PROCESS” so that ultimately we can spend our time focused on living a quality life. It is hard enough to focus on all of our work and routine tasks, wouldn’t it be nice to free up some thought space from constant vigilance or critiquing am I doing this the right way with enough effort? While we all certainly benefit from regular check-ins and revaluations of our current physical health, quality of life, mental well being, etc, simplifying our lives in this age of abundant technology and creating space to actually creatively think outside of our normal work can become more rewarding than anything I can imagine.

In Part II, I will discuss my ideas related to the reinforcement and praise of the process of learning as gleaned from an interview with Ashley Merryman in Episode 51 of the Primal Blueprint Podcast. 

Listen/Read Here: http://blog.primalblueprint.com/new-york-times-bestselling-author-ashley-merryman-part-1/#more-561

 Merriman has done some fascinating research in relation to the work of Carol Dweck on the effects of praise and competition within American education. 

She and Po Bronson first published an article in NY Magazine called "The Inverse Power of Praise"

Read Here: http://my.ilstu.edu/~czimmer/psy215/praise.pdf

Merryman has subsequently released 2 books Top Dog and Nuture Shock which further analyze the issue of parenting and schooling presented in the NY Magazine Article.

Part II