This week in class we talked about
the Iceberg illusion see
here) How so many different factors
combine to make someone successful. What
motivates these people to be persistent, dedicated and develop good habits? Some of the motivation might come from
unlocking the key to the unconscious mind.
When you look at the ten fastest
men in the world (judged by 100-meter times) they all have one thing in
common. None of them are first born
children and only one was in the first half of the family’s birth order. That
being born in the second half of your family’s birth order there are constant
signals that you need to catch up. So being fast is not only genetic genes but
also these nudges to keep up with the older family members that push these men
to excel. If you are born last in your
family that is not going to make you a world class sprinter, but it does show
that there are unconscious factors that motivate us to perform.
Walton and Cohen tried an
experiment that would also demonstrate how a small intervention could lead to a
change in motivation. They brought in a
group of Yale students and handed them a mix of magazine articles. One of the articles was about Jackson (made
up student) who came to Yale without any sort of career path. He developed a liking for math and was now a
member of the math department. The
article was totally forgettable except for half the students. For these students Jackson’s birthday was
manipulated to be the same as the reader.
When tested Walton and Cohen found
that the birthday group had a significantly better attitude toward math and
persisted 65% longer on problems. What
is also amazing is that none of these students noticed any change about
themselves or their attitude toward math.
The psychologist concluded that the birthdates brought a connectiveness
between Jackson and the students which motivated them.
John Bargh tries to explain that
the unconscious mind has a lot of energy in reserves. Direct pleas to produce that energy do not
often work. The unconscious mind can not
be fooled that easily. However, when
nudged by a couple of the unconscious cues we mentioned above the energy pours
out.
Therefore, when examining
successful people there is much more than meets the eye. Even more than the people themselves could
tell you
The iceberg is certainly a good way of measuring success in your own personal life, yet a humbling reminder that not everything everyone else sees is what you have gone through. I think the iceberg is a great example to keep yourself focused on attaining the goal ahead while staying humble in your successes. Even though you may put in more than meets the eye, it is still the main goal to fill up every spot on the iceberg.
ReplyDeleteA quote that reminds me of the ideas behind the iceberg image goes as; "There is no elevator to success, you have to take the stairs" -unknown origins. In today's age, society becomes infatuated with the successful and luxorious lifestyles of our idols. More often than not we fail to see the sacrifice made by those of a desired way of living and we lust for the shiny and fashionable. All people with success, not being defined by money, has built and contributed to their own iceberg and continue to do so. We all want to be successful but the journey can become too perilous for some to handle, and those that manage the task are now of the upper echelon.
ReplyDelete- Amondo Lemmon
DeleteThis is fascinating to me. I think it is fascinating that such a small connection, even though it is not a real connection, can have such a major impact on the student's responses. A small, even fake, connection can have an impact on you. If you tell your brain there is a connection that makes you feel better about the subject, you may end up doing better, just by feeling connected to it.
ReplyDelete--Will Cook
I love the analogy of the iceberg, but I am not a huge fan of the Olympic sprinter mentality of having to catch up. For just one example that shows the exact opposite is the awardees of the Victorian Cross, the highest honor in the English Army. Virtually all of them, over 95% in fact are first born children and I am sure that there are plenty of other world records in sports that show the opposite of the best of the best being first born and that it is just a coincidence that the best 100 sprinters in the world were born last. But not to get caught up in the details, there are most definitely small things in our every day lives that affect us for life that we don’t even realize are even present, weather it being a long commute to school or what you personally choose to eat daily. Even the simple things like if you shower in the morning or at night would probably have large impacts, probably even the exact temperature you of the shower, if it were to be measured on average, would butterfly effect itself into effecting every aspect of what makes you, you. This could also be effect on how you measure successes, you could make one hundred thousand dollars a year and spend every cent of it, or your could make ten thousand a year, spend half and live life to how you choose live, the one in the mansion may be technically wealthier but you, in your van parked in a Walmart parking lot are having the time of your life freelancing across the country. Success has different meanings to different people depending on what is unforeseen and measurable beneath the hidden waters.
ReplyDelete- Henry Jones
i feel like humans have a natural inclination for competition with siblings or people that have similar traits to them like their birthday. When people are put into these competitive situations they are more inclined to accomplish certain tasks than when they are doing it by themselves.
ReplyDelete~ Dasan LaRose
This is a good comparison. The tip of the iceberg is the energy shown while all of that "excess" of the iceberg under the water are the reserve energy that somebody has. Younger siblings have an inclination for competitiveness. I have a younger sister who is 8 and she always wants to do what I am doing but usually wants to do it better.
ReplyDelete~ Nick Bush