Neuroscience — What the Brain Tells Us About Our

Learners
Refreshed 2 December 2020, Published 15 January 2020 - ID G00718668 - 6 min read
FOUNDATIONAL This research is reviewed periodically for accuracy.

By Analyst(s): Learning and Development Research Team

Initiatives: Critical Skills and Competency Development

Our digital environment, pervasive across almost all aspects of our

lives, shapes the way our brain processes information. This blog
post looks at some of the opportunities neuroscience brings to
shape the learning landscape and is relevant for heads of learning
and the wider L&D community.

Neuroscience is “the scientific study of the nervous system and the brain,” essentially
understanding how the brain processes information. In a learning and development (L&D)
context this means how the learning processes the information they are exposed to.
Among other things, neuroscience helps us understand how the brain functions, how it
processes learning and how we solve problems. By understanding the science behind
learning, organizations can develop a better understanding of how they might increase
their impact on things such as performance management, learning solutions, and talent
management.

Organizations can, for example, use insights from neuroscience to develop a better
understanding of how to grab the attention of an employee in a way that can challenge
their perceptions. Gartner’s “Changing Critical Perceptions” research on cognitive
processing uncovered that to do this messages to employees need to:

1. Challenge mental models 1 — Loading content up with relevant data isn’t enough to
make it convincing; the content — and data — must be focused on changing the
specific assumptions and beliefs that lie underneath existing perceptions to get the
audience’s attention.

2. Motivate cognitive effort — Beyond just being in stakeholder-friendly language and

relevant to stakeholders’ interests, content must resonate with something important
enough to prompt cognitive processing.

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 3. Minimize the cognitive burden — Stripping content of “corporate speak” isn’t enough;
content must be presented in an easy-to-understand format and stripped of
unnecessary or nice-to-know information.

In short, to get our learners’ attention, neuroscience suggests that we need to provide an
effortless experience, in a format that suits the audience but also goes against the
expected.

One way of applying the above is to involve the intended audience’s emotions. Emotions
are deeply rooted in our brains and play a part in motivating people to learn. Humans are
“wired” with multiple mechanisms that can inhibit their ability to engage with information;
initial human responses to new information are often emotional rather than rational. For
example, when people are presented with evidence that contradicts existing beliefs and
values their positions can become more entrenched, even when they can derive benefits
from change. As such, when setting out to motivate and enable employees to learn,
develop, change, and grow, L&D leaders should engage learners’ emotions in a
constructive way. For example:

■ By using personalized, empathetic messaging to gain employees’ buy-in for the need
to learn new skills (rather than just focusing on the benefits to the organization)

■ By using empathetic messaging to recognize the difficulty of applying new learning

for employees — before sharing ways to overcome barriers

■ By mitigating the psychological responses that inhibit engagement with new

information by communicating it in ways that anticipate such reactions

But that may still not be enough to break through the noise learners face in their daily life.
In today’s digital environment, we are constantly training our brains in a way that leads to
shorter attention spans. Learners’ reduced ability to focus for long periods of time should
prompt organizations to review the way they structure learning sessions. For instance,
some organizations offer bite-size learning rather than several hour-long training
sessions.

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One example would be from CitiGroup, which offers bite size learning as part of their
#Bemore learning campaign. CitiGroup used marketing principles such as humor to get
the learners’ attention. Any internal learning campaign created would need to be updated
over time to ensure it continued to spark the intended audience’s attention. Following the
launch of this initiative, CitiGroup saw impressive participation rates. Beyond
participation, Citi EMEA has experienced a 16% increase in the number of employees who
say they have been given challenging assignments and experiences to develop, a 10%
increase in the number of employees who report having an opportunity to grow and
develop at Citi, and a 7% increase in the number of employees who report receiving
feedback to help them improve their performance. Continuing to draw on marketing
principles, it is important to track when the buzz around your learning campaign
decreases, in order to continue engaging learners. A decrease in excitement around the
campaign signals a need to refine, update, or potentially consider a new campaign.

Lastly, neuroscience has shown what we long expected — going to one learning session or
participating in a virtual session in isolation does not lead to the desired learning
application. The brain changes when we participate in those learning offerings, but it also
reverts when, for example, the new skill is not being reinforced back on the job, which
shows that ongoing learning is important to change behavior. You can compare it to going
to the gym; one session won’t have an impact, going more often will lead to change. Even
though most learners are satisfied with the learning opportunities L&D offers, few
employees (37%) apply what they learn. Therefore, it is no surprise that three out of four
heads of L&D prioritize building a productive learning culture that fosters ongoing learning
and not solely participation.

To sum up, in order to succeed in today’s digital reality, organizations can draw on some
of the understanding neuroscience gives us to provide a more effective learning
experience. For example, making the learning “effortless,” in a format that suits the
audience, but also having the learning go against the expected. And do so in a way that
connects with the learner’s emotions in a bite-size format.

Recommended by the Authors

“Ending the ‘Fear State’: How Managers Can Use Neuroscience to Drive Engagement”

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Christine Comaford is a leadership and culture coach who uses psychological insights to
help business leaders identify their weaknesses, expand their vision and drive positive
outcomes. Comaford is also a New York Times bestselling author of three books. In a
recent edition of the Gartner Talent Angle podcast, we spoke with Comaford about her
book, “Power Your Tribe: Create Resilient Teams in Turbulent Times,” and her
neuroscience-backed strategies for leaders to empower their teams during times of
change.

“The Neuroscience of Leadership”

Neuroscience is one of the fastest growing areas of interest in contemporary science.

During the last decade, the field of NeuroLeadership has been connecting neuroscientific
knowledge to organizational practices in leadership development.

“The Missing Element in Nearly Every Learning Strategy”

Psychological safety is a critical ingredient to employees’ willingness and ability to

develop and apply new skills. This article looks at how L&D leaders can create an
environment of psychological safety.

“Building Effective Learning Environments Article Series”

HR leaders can use this research to understand what goes into building effective learning
environments. The articles included here focus on four aspects of effective learning
environments — fairness, openness, safety and relevance — and offer recommendations
on how to build each one.

Endnotes
1
“About Neuroscience,” The British Neuroscience Association.

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