The education system could learn something from our current political divides. That’s the conclusion reached by researchers with the Department of Psychology of Lund University in Sweden. Professors Inês Bramão, Mikael Johansson, and Marius Boeltzig conducted three separate studies of American adults and found that we learn and retain more from people we like or at least are aligned with.
“We are more inclined to form new connections and update knowledge from information presented by groups we favor,” says Dr. Johansson. “Such preferred groups typically provide information that aligns with our pre-existing beliefs and ideas, potentially reinforcing polarized viewpoints.”
“What our research shows is how these significant phenomena can partly be traced back to fundamental principles that govern how our memory works,” he adds.
How Does Human Memory Work?
A fundamental understanding of human memory capabilities enhances the significance of the Lund University findings. First, recognize the human brain’s inextricable link between its ability to learn and to remember.
Learning involves the acquisition, storage, and retrieval of knowledge through new experiences. Each day, humans draw upon internal information stores to navigate the world. Drawing upon existing knowledge allows humans to connect ideas, upgrade concepts, or expand what they already know.
Not all memories are the same. Episodic memory is one’s capacity to recall specific events and their details. Sharing the story of a coworker who drank too much eggnog at a holiday party relies on episodic memory. When one suffers from retrograde amnesia, they are unable to access their episodic memory and recall information from before suffering from a brain injury.
Researchers are captivated by the brain’s utilization of episodic memory to generate new information. Although television and movies often depict memories as archived, isolated video clips, cognitive neuroscientists believe memories constantly overlap.
Both old and new information weaves together, forming an ever-growing, dynamic tapestry of experiences. This process, known as memory integration, is how humans draw new conclusions about events they have not experienced directly.
Take the case of “Ted.” One afternoon, Ted sees a woman with two blonde children at the park near his house. Two days later, Ted sees a man with the same two blonde children at the same park. Despite no direct interaction, Ted’s brain connects the two experiences: the two adults and children are a neighboring family. In making this assumption, he unconsciously utilized memory integration.
Senior lecturer and researcher Dr. Inês Bramão spoke with Lund University media. “Making such inferences is adaptive and helpful. But of course, there’s a risk that our brain draws incorrect conclusions or remembers selectively.”
We Learn More From Likable Sources
Lund researchers sought to determine whether the perception of an information source affects the ability to learn something new.
Subjects memorized and made associations among various combinations of everyday objects, like spoons, balls, and scissors. The only variable introduced was the person presenting participants with information.
The study revealed that an individual’s capacity for memory integration — their ability to connect information — depends on their perception of information sources.
Simply put, people make associations more easily by learning from likable individuals. If a participant disliked the person presenting the information, they were less likely to recall and make connections.
Likability is subjective, but participants shared their definitions. They based their opinions on characteristics such as favorite sports, political views, college major, personal hobbies, dietary habits, and even taste in music. These traits helped participants identify which presenters belonged to what psychologists call their “in-group” or tribe.
Findings showed that these results were consistent across the board, regardless of the content participants learned. Johansson adds, “Particularly striking is that we integrate information differently depending on who is saying something, even when the information is completely neutral. In real life, where information often triggers stronger reactions, these effects could be even more prominent.”
Researchers believe their findings have far-reaching implications. Bramão referenced politics, where people process information through the polarized lens of personal views. For example, one person hears a political party advocating increasing taxes to improve healthcare. The same person then visits a remodeled and upgraded healthcare center.
“If you sympathize with the party that wanted to improve health care through higher taxes, you’re likely to attribute the improvements to the tax increase, even though the improvements might have had a completely different cause,” explained Bramão.
What Other Cognitive Biases Affect Learning?
As psychologists know, the human brain can help and hinder learning in many ways. Cognitive biases are common, systematic errors in thinking that rely on incorrect assumptions and unsound logic.
Other than the in-group effect described by Lundt University researchers, the most common learning biases include:
Confirmation Bias: Utilizing information confirming pre-existing beliefs or hypotheses, ignoring contradictory evidence, and reinforcing existing viewpoints.Halo Effect: Forming a general opinion about an individual or entity based on a single positive trait or aspect, such as the assumption that an attractive person is also competent.Illusory Correlation: Wrongly inferring there must be a relationship between two separate, unrelated variables, a presumption often influenced by stereotypes or prior beliefs.Mere Exposure Effect: Repeated exposure to a stimulus increases a person’s preference or liking for it, regardless of its intrinsic qualities.Cognitive Dissonance: Justification, modification, or rationalization of one’s beliefs inconsistent with one’s belief system.
