Cognitive Design

Thanks to the advent of MOOCs (massive open online courses) you can now learn with the best professors from around the world. These are free online courses that often award a certificate or statement of achievement but no college credits.  Some upcoming MOOCs of interest to cognitive designers include:

1. Gamification
2.  Design – creation of artifacts in society 
3. A crash course on creativity- Stanford Venture Lab

Check out the list at Open Culture for other MOOCs that might complement projects (e.g. global health) you are working on.

About a year ago I did an informal study of how university students use playlists to enhance everyday experiences and performances. This included listening to a personalized list of songs while studying, playing video games, exercising, doing something creative such as drawing or problem framing and relaxing.  I surveyed or interviewed 42 students at two major universities in the US Midwest.   The results were interesting and convinced me that playlist construction and use is a relevant area for cognitive designers. So I am always on the lookout for research into playlists.

For example,  Scientific American has a recent post about the role of playlist in the Psychology of Effective Workout Music.  They site research that reveals:

“Music distracts people from pain and fatigue, elevates mood, increases endurance, reduces perceived effort and may even promote metabolic efficiency. When listening to music, people run farther, bike longer and swim faster than usual—often without realizing it.”

They also provide some advice on how to construct a playlist.  Focus on songs you like,  have a beat that makes your body want to move and that invoke a strong emotional response.  No surprises here but it can take some effort to find music that puts and keeps you in the zone for exercising.  Just Google  ”workout playlist” if you want some examples.

I am interested to hear from readers that have examples of how playlists can enhance experience and performance.

Source for icon:  Findicons.com

As we age, life reminds us that we are mortal.  We see things die and may have near death experiences.  An intensified sense of mortality has a powerful impact on our behavior in both the short and long term.   Some argue (terror management theorists) that it goes much further and that most of what we do is driven by a fear of death.   No matter what position you take it is hard to deny that how we embrace a sense of mortality strongly shapes major decisions, lifestyle and purpose in life.   Important factors in many cognitive design problems so I am always on the lookout for scientific studies that offer insights in how the psychology of  mortality is working at a practical level.

Take for example, the recent article in the Journal of Economic Psychology on Money and the Fear of Death.  The researchers conducted four experiments that suggest money can help us quell the anxiety caused by our sense or mortality.  They argue this effect flows from the symbolic aspects of money and an increased sense of confidence and self-reliance that it brings.  In their own words:

“We conclude that, beyond its pragmatic utility, money possesses a strong psychological meaning that helps to buffer existential anxiety.”

If true, this means that money helps us to feel immortal.

I have been following the work of Mayor Michael Bloomberg to ban large sugar-sweetened drinks in New York City.  He and others claim that large-sized (over 16 ounces) containers of high-sugar drinks contribute to diabetes and obesity.  The proposed ban can be viewed as a public health measure.

From a behavior change standpoint, a ban is a hard-stop technique and often generates considerable resistance as it limits choice or liberty and challenges stakeholders that profit from the existing behavior.  Indeed, this is clearly illustrated in the latest news, Judge Throws Out NYC’s Ban on Large Sugary Drinks.  For example, the chief lobbyist of the NYC chapter of  the National Association of Theater Owners is quoted as saying:

“You can’t force people to do things, and that’s what today’s decision shows. You can’t tell people what to drink and where to drink it,”

One alternative to a hard stop is a nudge. Rather than ban large sugary drinks you make the healthier options  more appealing and naturally available. Of course, implementing a nudge requires the cooperation of just the groups that want to sell more drinks.

The judge’s ruling will be appealed so Bloomberg’s experiment in using government to curb the obesity epidemic in the US will continue.  I am interested to hear from readers.  Should we ban such drinks?

The Chief Learning Officer magazine ran a recent article on microlearning - In Learning, Size Matters.   The idea is to deliver bite-sized learning experiences when needed that are fully integrated into work.  The emphasis is on improving performance by learning from immediate experience.  While this may remind some of learning objects, we are now in the era of posts, tweets and smart phone reminders.

The article includes comments from readers, for example:

Parul Gupta: Bite-sized learning is what sticks with learners. Learners are so overloaded with content that a clear, concise and crisp bite of learning is what they cherish. I saw these bites catch fire in a leader-led development program. The small bites of learning should consist of a single topic and need to be extremely well designed.

I’ve seen that too but how do we design microlearning experiences?  One way is the knowledge card model.  In this approach,  we take a particular performance or learning goal and break it down into a set of techniques and behaviors that need to be mastered.  Each card offers a microlearning script for practicing a technique or behavior.  Participants that want to improve get a small deck of cards and start their day by picking one to play. They pick a card that is sure to fit their circumstances.

For example, I recent developed 5 decks that support microlearning the competencies of innovation.   One deck is focused sharpening your observation skills to deepen and broaden what you learn from experience.  An example card:

Something that takes only a few minutes and can easily be integrated into snack or meal time.  This is a microlearning from experience.  Imagine now 24 other such experiences designed to open all five of your senses to drive deeper learning and innovation. Micro changes that accumulate into macro effects, all designed for how our minds naturally work.

Knowledge cards are one way to design and deliver microlearning on a wide variety of topics.  I am interested to hear from readers that are using different designs.