Here at Kineo, we always endeavour to put the human at the centre of everything. Even in an AI-obsessed world, we believe humans (employees) should be at the heart of all learning experiences.
This isn’t just wholesome feel-good marketing. Understanding how people think, learn and make decisions is fundamentally useful when it comes to creating effective training programmes that drive real behaviour change.
In this blog, we delve deeper into some familiar examples of behavioural science and how this might relate to learning design.
1. Confirmation bias
You are probably aware of this one! This is the tendency to seek out information that confirms what you already know. For example, only asking for advice or opinions from friends or colleagues who share your beliefs. Or only reading certain publications that align with your arena of views. Or maybe it could be more nuanced and conscious – like only asking safe questions in a meeting when you worry that asking more challenging questions could make your argument less credible.
Learning design implication:
As Learning Designers, we need to be aware that learners may seek out information that just confirms their existing beliefs or biases (or reinforces a stereotype). To mitigate this, provide a diverse range of perspectives and encourage critical thinking and exploration of different viewpoints. And we encourage you to do this frequently and not just as a ‘one-off’ tick box exercise.
2. Anchoring effect
This is the tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information you get when making decisions.
This is used often in the world of marketing when it comes to pricing. For example, when buying a car, the initial price suggested by the salesperson serves as an anchor for further negotiations. If the final price is much lower, the initial higher price will influence your perception of how good a deal it is!
The anchoring effect can also be used as a communication tool. For example, when showcasing two options in meetings. The first option is pitched with way more data to back it up, case studies and customer testimonials. The second option is lacking in credibility and has no clear narrative. The audience inevitably opts for option one even if in reality the second option is the right/better option.
Learning design implication:
When presenting information, we need to be mindful of how initial information can influence perceptions and decisions. For example, when introducing a new concept, be clear and transparent and frame it in a way that establishes a clear and accurate “anchor” to guide learners’ understanding.
3. Social proof
The notion of social proof is so ingrained into our digital worlds that we may not even realise it’s happening all around us. In reality, we all understand this principle when we go on social media and are met with influencers or celebrities endorsing certain products. Here the premise is that their followers may be more inclined to try a product or service based on the influencer’s recommendation, considering it as social proof of the product’s value.
Learning design implication:
Incorporate social learning elements into training programmes, such as peer collaboration, group discussions and user-generated content (e.g. from your employees and past learners). Remember people will always believe and engage with individual stories over the wider brand narrative.
Highlight success stories and testimonials to demonstrate the relevance and effectiveness of the learning content. We recently shared our thoughts on internal learn-influencers and how they can make a profound impact on your organisation’s learning culture.
4. Loss aversion
People tend to strongly prefer avoiding losses over acquiring gains of equal value. For example, if you had £100 in your pocket and lost £50 of it, you’d feel the loss more acutely in comparison to the joy you’d feel if you had £50 originally and found another £50.
This can impact decision-making and lead to something called “sunk cost bias”, where you keep going at something because you can’t face the perceived loss of everything you’d already put into it if you stop. Like not cancelling that gym membership you haven’t used for 6 months or playing a few more times on that slot machine.
Learning design implication:
Gamification techniques, such as point systems, badges, and leaderboards, can leverage loss aversion by tapping into learners’ desire to avoid falling behind or losing status (or credibility). Another idea is that you could also emphasise what learners stand to lose by not acquiring a specific knowledge or skill. This is commonly used in compliance training, where you might highlight the negative consequences of remaining ignorant or unaware of a certain policy.
5. Spacing effect
As any good yoga teacher will tell you, often the best way to improve at something is to practise it little and often. Persistence and repetition are key here.
Trying to learn how to do a headstand in one day is probably going to result in injury and we wouldn’t recommend this! However, regularly practising helpful postures with rest periods in between is more likely to get you to that upside-down position.
Learning design implication:
Design learning experiences that incorporate spaced repetition and distributed practice to enhance long-term retention. Break content into smaller, manageable chunks and provide opportunities for learners to revisit and review material over time.
Final thoughts
By understanding these cognitive biases and behavioural science principles, Learning Designers can create more engaging, effective and impactful learning experiences.
Want to learn more about incorporating behavioural science into your learning experiences? Get in touch with our team or download our recent guide to Creating impactful elearning: the art and science of evidence-based elearning design.