Attention and dissonance in the age of social media
These days, it’s not uncommon to find your students (or colleagues) Facebooking through your presentation – no matter how interesting or important your presentation may be.
For example, last year I showed a class Larry Lessig’s wonderful “How creativity is being strangled by the law” TED talk. I was sitting at the back of the computer lab so I could see what most of my students were up to on their computers. There was a lot of clacking. Emails, Facebook, Instant Message. Few eyes were on the screen, on Lessig. Most had their “attention” focused on anything but the video.
But then a remarkable thing happened. When his talk arrived at the youtube mashups – that feature animation and music – all eyes were on the screen. The “entertainment” part of the video was, indeed, compelling. Unfortunately, it was more compelling than the critical history Lessig unpacks – to situate his final arguments.
Impulsiveness and instant gratification (are not the same as “choice)
The question shouldn’t be “how do we make a lecture into a rock video” but how do we address a significant problem of human attention – a situation where people are unable to engage anything other than the object that strikes us as most immediately gratifying. What’s lost here is, well, everything. Namely, the possibility of learning anything but that which you “choose” to engage.
Imagine, for a moment, a world so impolite, so selfish, that we do not engage in any observation that does not does not provide immediate sensory gratification. A world in which what we regard as “meaningful” is isn’t the product of thoughtful consideration but thoughtless impulsiveness and gratification? Civilisation, as we know it, would be doomed. We would be, as Postman points out, amusing ourselves to death.
The challenge of training attention
The fact is, most of us have not yet learned how to “train” our attention with services and tools that are profoundly addictive and enjoyable. None of us can properly compete with the highly stimulating interface of a social media tool or the endless choices available on youtube.
As an instructor and speaker, I know I’m not the only one struggling with this new challenge. This issue of attention focus is the subject of Lisa Manfield’s article This is your Brain on Technology:
Lisa asked for some of my thoughts on the subject based on my own experiences:
For me that “holistic” way means adopting the zen “beginner’s mind” – a less ego-activated consciousness (i.e., a state of “not knowing” rather than “all knowing”) as well as understanding that real learning means stepping away from the stimulants and objects we find most soothing and gratifying.
Dissonace and disequilibrium: Learning isn’t always “fun”
Having studied educational psychology I recognise the desire to disengage for what it really is: cognitive dissonance (AKA “disequilibrium). Put simply, it is the desire to flee from or avoid an experience that leaves us feeling confused, disoriented or “dumb” – and this is how real learning is genuinely experienced (as confusion).
Our ability or inability to engage the confusion and “not knowing” of a new concept, skill or experience is what separates us into effective or not so effective learners. Those who are able to abide with dissonance are better at assimilating new information than those who avoid it in favour of a more “familiar” and gratifying experience (i.e., Facebook or any other object of attention that serves as gratification or play). In many ways, attention and dissonance are a problem of ego and identity:
“A powerful cause of dissonance is when an idea conflicts with a fundamental element of the self-concept, such as “I am a good person” or “I made the right decision.” The anxiety that comes with the possibility of having made a bad decision can lead to rationalization, the tendency to create additional reasons or justifications to support one’s choices. A person who just spent too much money on a new car might decide that the new vehicle is much less likely to break down than his or her old car. This belief may or may not be true, but it would likely reduce dissonance and make the person feel better. Dissonance can also lead to confirmation bias, the denial of disconfirming evidence, and other ego defense mechanisms.”
And this is precisely what occurs when a learner decides, arbitrarily, to dismiss what’s on offer and seek out “disconfirming evidence” that supports their desire to engage the stimulus of (personal) choice – for example “I have chosen not to engage your lecture because I am paying to be here and I have decided I would rather play World of Warcraft. It’s my money. I am charge of how I spend my time here.” To this, I would ask: but are you really in charge of your mind, ego and impulse control right now? Is this an informed choice or an impulsive one?”
Getting beyond ego and impulse with “beginner’s mind”
In my experience working with both at-risk and high-achieving learners, those most likely to take away the greatest insights are those who are willing and ready to disengage their preferred stimulus (or redirect that stimulus in service of the new learning). It isn’t about being smart in the sense that you are more familiar with the subject, it’s about being smart in the sense that you are willing to be open to new experiences, ideas and ways of thinking – and recognise the difference entertainment and learning.
I do not believe that social media is the cause of disengagement. I believe our responses to social media are the cause of disengagement. If we are to use these tools productively – beyond social toys – we must learn how to train our attention in contexts of dissonance and embrace the sometimes uncomfortable humility of “beginner’s mind.” This is not to say that there aren’t other reasons for disengagement (bad pedagogy), but to speak to the specific issue of ego and attention.
As a secondary challenge, those of us educators who may be avoiding social media for the very same reasons (it is uncomfortable because it makes us feel like “non experts”), must learn how to use it in service of learning and knowledge. We can no sooner “control” our students desire for interactivity, but we can think about ways to transform impulsivity into engagement.
Further viewing: Howard Rheingold’s Attention series
And his post on Attention, Multitasking and sharing.
Further reading: Herbert Kohl and the enigma of not learning
While dissonance and attention are some reasons students disengage, there are a great many others – many of which relate to equity issues as well as bad pedagogy.
I like this piece. I feel that it is important for us to consider what we are asking students/learners to do with social media.
I like how you say, “we must learn how to train our attention in contexts of dissonance and embrace the sometimes uncomfortable humility of “beginner’s mind.”” I teach in a room full of fabo Macs loaded with hundreds of apps with big fat pipes ready to swallow a sea of streaming bytes. Students must decide whether to focus on me when I’m speaking or their screens. I give lots of class time over to the screen, so I ask that when someone is speaking we give them our undivided attention. The line between impulsivity and meaningful engagement is one we openly discuss. I also move throughout the room so students are aware I can walk up on them when their minds are directed elsewhere.
It’s quite fun really! And when their minds are elsewhere, I use that as a teachable moment, if you will. I have them tell me and the class what they’re doing and in turn we get an opportunity to think about what we are each doing and why we are doing it (I teach pre-service teachers).
I find that more dissonance continues when we don’t openly talk about it. I tend to use the term disequilibrium rather than dissonance, but I can see the similarities.
Christopher – thank you very much. I’m in a similar situation in a mac lab. I cannot, as Howard did, rearrange the desks – there’s barely enough room to move around the room – otherwise I’d try some of his attention experiments. I’m also very limited by time – I teach a 12 week course with only 2 hours of lab/activity per week. I have to pack a lot in each week in order to get through a very industry focused course (versus a theoretical or university style inquiry course).
PS – I added a link to a previous post about Herbert Kohl’s “I won’t learn from you” to speak to other issues of disengagement – though I wanted this post to speak, specifically, to this one.
I also updated the post to reference disequilibrium (which i, too, tend to reference though chose to focus today on dissonance).
[...] Attention and dissonance in the age of social media at melanie mcbride online This makes a lot of sense to me. Resonates with my philosophy and creeping technological determinism… (tags: attention cognitive_dissonance multitasking cognition) [...]
Really interesting post. I’m starting to see how this is crossing into the workforce. If everyone in a meeting is doing something else, is the meeting really happening?
I remember in 2001 attending executive team meetings where everyone but the person speaking was on their Blackberry. You can guess at the effectiveness of those meetings. I brought in a newspaper one day and starting reading it. When I got called on it, I told the chair of the meeting that I was still listening just like everyone on the Blackberry. They were banned from then on for that meeting.
I know the genie is out of the bottle and that we’re past the time of technology bans but I truly believe that while some of us are good at multi-tasking and can do many things at once, the majority of us are not.
Sure meetings may not always be engaging but my view is that I was invited for a reason and in a work setting I am being paid to attend and need to show value for that time by contributing actively, not when I tune back in. My gut says that over time as we expand our use of collaboration tools beyond face-to-face meetings, the time when we do come face-to-face will need to be time well spent and those who aren’t really “present” may find themselves uninvited the next time.
[...] Ian on Jan.31, 2009, under Psychology Melanie McBride has an excellent, utterly excellent post relating education, inattention in class, and cognitive [...]