Core (Learning) Needs

Are you addressing your learners core psychological needs?

Last week I attended The Empathy Conversation Café by ​Alexandra Goetzfried as part of the awesome L&D Shakers. One of the things Alexendra shared during the event were 4 core psychological needs that every human has - Attachment, Control, Confidence & Pleasure.

Our learners are no different!

Let’s unpack what they mean and what they can do for learning:

1/ Attachment 🖇️

Our attachment to other humans is what makes us human. We want to be loved and appreciated.

In our learning experiences, this becomes critical. Learning experiences need to foster a feeling of belonging. Our learners need to feel attached to their peers, the facilitator and the learning environment.

Here are some ideas on how you can leverage attachment in learning experiences:

• Create small rituals that you start or end sessions with. Ritual are a great way to foster connection

• Recognise learners for things they do - build a culture of celebration!

2/ Control 🕹️

As humans we desire a safe environment where we feel in control and where we feel that we can drive change. We like feeling relaxed and in control.

In our learning experiences, we often take a top-down approach to learning. As facilitators and designers, the locus of control is in our hands. But learning experiences can offer agency to the learners as well. This makes them feel more engaged and instills a greater sense of ownership.

Here are some ideas on how you can leverage control in learning experiences:

• Allow the learners to choose how they’d like to express their understanding - is it a tweet or a presentation or something else?

• Give the learners the choice to pick the topic of their project - this could be from an existing list as well!

3/ Confidence 💪🏻

As humans we want to feel competent, valuable and appreciated by others. We want to feel confident and have a sense of self worth.

In our learning experiences, confidence can be a game changer! By making our learners confident, we add to their motivation and learning outcomes!

Here are some ideas on how you can leverage confidence in learning experiences:

• Create space for learners to do a shoutout for others - this helps them recognise people have been helpful and feel happy for being recognised

• Create shorter feedback loops for learners to quickly test their understanding and gauge where they stand & how far they still have to go

4/ Pleasure ❤️

As humans we seek pleasure. We’re hardwired to do more of things from which we derive joy and run away from things that give us pain.

In our learning experiences, we rarely think about pleasure. Engagement? Yes. Motivation? Yes. But pleasure? Maybe not. Our emotions can be great building blocks for learning.

Here are some ideas on how you can leverage pleasure in learning experiences:

• Leverage surprise in learning experiences as a dopamine hit. What can you do for your learners to feel instant joy or happiness?

• Use the 3Cs to spark joy - Choice, Celebration & Conversation! More on this here

In short, Attachment, Control, Confidence & Pleasure are core psychological needs that facilitators & designers can leverage to make more engaging & impactful learning experiences!