9. Learning

Learning is so important that we are all born with a love for learning. You don’t need to nudge babies to learn, they just love it! However, this urge may be distorted in time, like our eating habits – we don’t always learn what is good for us, but learn junk instead. So let’s see how we can keep the flame of love for learning alight. Some tips for improving your memory will be suggested too, but let’s start with considering various learning styles.

Learning styles

There are four learning styles:

Theoretical learning is indirect mental learning. Indirect means that you learn from books and others. What distinguishes this mode from simple memorising is understanding. Understanding requires active engagement (questioning, clarifying, etc.), an enquiring mind and interest in the subject. This is easier if you relate the new to what you already know (make connections!).

Intuitive learning is direct physical learning – you learn by experience. Learning how to ride a bike is an example. Of course, others can help you and encourage you while you are doing so, but you have to figure out yourself how to keep your balance. This is why intuitive learning often involves trial and error (you may fall down a few times before you get the knack).

Practical learning is indirect, physical learning. You learn to do something from others or manuals (e.g. learning to drive). It is most useful when knowledge gained this way becomes mainly unconscious and instinctive. This is achieved through practising.

Reflective learning is direct mental learning based on your own thinking and personal experience. It can have an important role in forming opinions, judgements, assessments and views.

In reality, several types of knowledge (associated with the above learning styles) are often combined. For example, doctors combine practical and theoretical knowledge; in social occasions you may need all four: theoretical (to be informative), intuitive (to be spontaneous) practical (to be polite), and reflective (to be interesting). None of these styles is superior. In fact, it can sometimes be dangerous not to combine them (e.g. learning how to use a gun may be unsafe if you don’t know how to control your impulses or do not reflect on possible consequences). Which learning style do you like most and which one least? Considering that they all matter, what can you do to like the latter a bit more?

This exercise aims to connect you with the innate drive to learn. Use it whenever your motivation to learn is low.

Uplifting learning: recall situations when you have enjoyed learning. It could be a skill such as swimming or playing a game; a new school subject; something interesting from the internet or a book; insights that you have gained from thinking about or discussing certain issues. Try to recapture as best as you can the sensation you had then. Remember how it feels. This can come in handy when your motivation to learn is low, especially if it belongs to the same learning style (e.g. if you want to motivate yourself to learn about psychology, recall a situation in which you were curious about something, read about it, and enjoyed understanding it better).

Learning tips

• If you are interested, learning is easy – so the top tip is to get curious and interested in the subject.
• Understand or master the basics. This allows you to build on the solid foundations. So, first lessons are the most important.
• Make gradual, incremental steps without big leaps and try to connect the new to what you already know.
• Make a link between what you are learning and your own experience (e.g. link physics to skateboarding, sailing or golf).
• Imagine what you are learning (Einstein created the theory of relativity from imagining that he was riding a beam of light).
• Summarise a long text to a few sentences or bullet points.
• Draw a diagram or a picture of what you want to remember.
• Try to explain or imagine that you are explaining what you have learnt to somebody else (this also increases motivation).

Retention

These suggestions can help us remember what we learn.

• Forget what you don’t need to remember. If we cram our heads with unimportant information it should not come as a surprise that we can’t remember what really matters!
• Retention is better if information is related to personal experience and if it is meaningful. The latter involves either understanding an already implied meaning or deliberately connecting various elements in a meaningful way (see below).
• Feelings and sensations have the deepest impact on memory, then images, and finally abstractions and symbols (e.g. words). So, abstract information is easier to remember if it is connected to a feeling, sensation or image. For example, a particular scent may assist your memory if it is present during learning and at the time of recalling (e.g. an exam). Using the same sensation in unrelated situations will decrease its effectiveness though.
• Research also indicates that retention is easier if the context at recall matches the context at learning (e.g. if you recall information in the same room in which you learned it)(1).

Mnemonic techniques

Mnemonic techniques are usually used to remember names, a list of items or numbers. They can be grouped in two categories: one based on visualisation and the other on meaning making:

Visualisation

• Associate a name you want to remember with an image of a similar word. So if you want to remember the capital of Australia (Canberra) imagine a slice of Camembert cheese sitting on top of the map of Australia; if you are introduced to somebody called Rosie, imagine her wearing a hat with roses.
• Imagine your house or flat. Place each item you want to remember in different parts of your house (e.g. the hall, staircase, bathroom, sitting room etc.). Then, imagine walking through it when you try to remember them.
• Associate each number to be remembered with an image (e.g. 1 = street lamp, 2 = swan, 3 = flying bird, etc.) and then create a picture or clip from these images (e.g. 231 = a swan makes a bird fly off and hit a street lamp).

Meaning

• Create a story that includes all the items to remember.
• To memorise the spelling of a word, for example, create a sentence out of words that start with letters that make up that word (e.g. because – Big Elephants Can Always Upset Small Elephants).
• Make a meaningful sentence out of the items you want to remember or their first letters. For example, the order of the first three colours in snooker (the most difficult to remember): God Bless You – Green, Brown, Yellow
  The order of operations for maths is: Parentheses Exponents Multiply Divide Add Subtract – Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally

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(1) See, for example, Matlin, M. (1983) Cognition. London: Holt, p.85.

This area is not about changing your job, wallpaper, country or partner – it is about changing yourself; in other words, your habitual cognitive, emotional and behavioural patterns.

What do you want to change?

Being able to make a personal change is essential. So this chapter will be very practical and to get the most out of it, it may be a good idea to start by thinking about something that you would like to change. Choose something small because this increases your chances of success and confidence. Define what you want to achieve in simple, clear and positive terms (for example, rather than aiming to lose weight, aim to be fit or to look good).

Prerequisites for successful change

‘I can’, ‘I want’ and ‘I like’ are three conditions for successful change. If all three are present, you can hardly fail!

‘I can’: we are all capable of both failing and succeeding. If you believe that you can’t change, it is true; if you believe that you can, it is also true. To strengthen 'I can', think about successful changes that you have made in the past. If you can’t remember any, just consider that if others can change, you can change too.

‘I want’: you need to believe that the change is worth your time and effort. Filling in this table can help you make it clear:

Old pattern		New pattern
Advantages	Disadvantages	Advantages	Disadvantages

However, if wanting to change is only in your head, it may not be sufficient – the resolution needs to come from your gut. A half- hearted attempt is unlikely to succeed, so make sure that you really want to make a change. The stronger and deeper the feelings associated with the change are, the more profound the change will be. The following interventions can help in this respect.

Wanting change: imagine what your life will look like (in a few days, months or years) if you continue in the same direction. Then imagine vividly that you have changed. What will it look like? How will you feel? Which one is better? Nurture a sense that you can live well without the old habit by seeing life after the change in a positive light.

‘I like’: We can learn to like and dislike something. Nobody likes their first cigarette or first glass of vodka but some persist and learn to like it. If we can learn to like what is not good for us, we can learn to like what is. We can do so by associating a change with a good experience. For example, rather than forcing yourself to eat healthily, find a way to enjoy it: prepare a nice meal and/or add to it something that you already like (e.g. bacon bits, grated cheese, good company, or nice music – be creative!). You can combine this with growing a dislike for the old habit: associate it with unpleasant feelings. 'But', you may ask, 'what can I like if I just want to give up something (e.g. smoking)?' You can like being in charge and free (from the old habit); the benefits of the new (e.g. smelling good, breathing well); the company of likeminded people; yourself, your body, your mind, your life!

The stages of change

It is widely accepted that there are several stages of change(1). Here are some suggestions for each of them:

Learn about your habit

• Its causes: to examine the causes or reasons why you have a particular habit, imagine that you no longer do what you usually do – how do you feel? How can you address the underlying feeling that causes your habit?
• Its triggers: to locate its triggers, observe your habit without any interference. A trigger can be your state of mind, other people or certain events. Consider how they can be neutralised –what else could you do in a trigger situation?

Prepare

• Set an achievable, realistic goal. Bear in mind that a small change is better than a big failure.
• If you have succeeded in making a change in the past, recall what helped you then – the same or similar may help you now.
• Your old habit may be part of a larger picture (e.g. staying out late may be a part of your social life). In this case, you may need to do something about other parts too (e.g. friends who encourage you to stay out late).
• Be prepared for the fact that some people around you may not be supportive: think about who may want (perhaps unconsciously) to sabotage the change and what you can do about it. By the same token, consider who you can talk to or rely on if you are in danger of relapsing.
• Go back to the above table that compares the old pattern and the new one, and consider how you can compensate for the advantages of the former and the disadvantages of the latter.
• Decide if you will make a change gradually or in one go.
• Consider the timing (e.g. if you are taking exams next week, it may be better to make your change after that) and set the date.
• Attempt to make a change only when you feel ready. Are you 100% ready? If you are not, go back to the prerequisites.

Go for it

• Announce your intentions and ask others to support you.
• Stop negotiating with yourself (or you will lose it). Just do it!
• Dis-identify with what needs to be changed and identify with the new (e.g. if you wish to be more outgoing, stop thinking about yourself as a shy person). You can even mentally identify with an image that symbolises the change (e.g. a rock if you want to be more firm with your choices).

Persist

Persistence is essential in this process because old patterns tend to return out of habit. This may be the hardest part (as somebody once said: ‘It's easy to stop smoking, I do it twenty times a day’). However, persevering is worthwhile: in addition to the specific benefits, every successful change also increases your sense of personal power and control. This can help you to persist:

• Use a tempting situation as a reminder to stick to your goal.
• Catch yourself when tempted, acknowledge your feelings and thoughts, and then remember the consequences of backsliding (e.g. how you will feel tomorrow).
• It is much easier to relapse when excited, so be especially vigilant if you notice that you are getting keyed up.
• Use your imagination to put yourself off a temptation (e.g. imagine slime dripping on and covering a cake you fancy).
• Enjoy the new as well as its benefits, and appreciate your achievement (no false modesty, making a change is a big deal!)

If you relapse

If you experience a relapse, accept it as a temporary setback – you are defeated only if you give up! Be aware of what is going on though, as this may help you in the future. Establish why it has happened and develop a strategy for similar situations in the future. For example, if you had a cigarette because you were annoyed, think about what you will do instead the next time you get annoyed. A frequent reason for relapse is forgetting what you have decided. So, remember to remember!

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(1) Prochaska, J., Norcross, J. & Diclemente, C. (1994) Changing for Good. New York: Collins.