Students Learning Online Need Social Interaction

Students Learning Online Need Social Interaction

If we eliminate the social factor from the child, we are only left with an abstraction.

                                                                 -John Dewey, My Pedagogic Creed 1897

Human beings have always had a need for social interaction.  One of the foundational prerequisites of human growth and survival  is safety, and one of the primary evolutionary conditions for safety has been strong social connections and community.  Throughout our history, we have always been safer in groups.  Whether it be from physical threats such as our ancestors faced from wild animals and the environment, or modern threats against personal well-being and economic stability, our species has always been more successful when we are part of a group, tribe, team, family or community.

In fact, collaboration and social interaction goes beyond helping immediate or pressing dangers, but plays a major role in response to perceived threats or dangers.  It is a near universal desire to "talk" to someone after a disruptive or traumatic event.  It is social interaction that helps facilitate the return to homeostatic functioning, or biological balance and stability.

When faced with a threat, the autonomic nervous system leans heavily on the sympathetic nervous system creating a physical stress response (fight, flight, or freeze).  Regular body functions such as breathing, heart rate and regulation of hormones are kicked into overdrive and the primary goal becomes to survive.  The parasympathetic nervous system, which helps regulate normal bodily functions (feed and breed), is more or less put on hold until the danger is assessed and the situation or circumstance is deemed "safe."  Individuals under duress, whether it is large or small, experience varying degrees of neurological response which can impede memory and negatively impact motivation and cognitive function.

Not only do human beings need social structures to manage crisis or instability, we also need social interaction and collaboration to help us return to a state of normalcy and safety.  Without social interaction, human beings cannot function at optimal levels physically, mentally, or emotionally. Prison inmates, when left in solitary confinement, experienced decreases in the size of their hippocampus, an area of the brain that aids in learning, memory and spatial awareness; and an increase in the size of the amygdala, which regulates anxiety and fear. While this is an extreme case, it is clear that consistent social interaction has a positive impact on the capacity to learn and develop. Suddenly deprived of their primary mode of personal social interaction, it isn't surprising that students should experience a dramatic drop in motivation and engagement.

As children develop into adolescents and young adults, the need and importance of peer relationships changes.  For elementary age students, students work best within large group settings, while adolescent age students in middle school begin to break into smaller groups, primarily focusing on same-sex friends and confidants.  By high school, it begins to branch out to romantic interest and complex social structures stretching into multiple groups based on shared values or interests.  As this development occurs, the impact on learning and motivation increases.

Younger students may be more easily motivated away from their peers, as their social support structure is built on relationships with adult figures such as teachers and parents, but teens especially are more likely to be motivated when surrounded by positive peer influence and a need for social approval.  During the teen years, the influence of peer pressure increases dramatically. MRI scans have shown increased activity in the reward processing centers of the brains of teenagers in response to social cues of facial expression. This implies that teens are more likely to feel better or worse when considering the reactions of those around them. During late adolescence, teens are primarily trying to build their own personal identity while simultaneously seeking the approval of their peers.  This happens while they are also required to work towards establishing competency and purpose as individuals.

Social interaction both motivates and facilitates the learning process

Social interaction is one of the primary motivating factors for middle school and high school students for several reasons.  In the classroom, students are more likely to participate in an environment of engaged peers than in isolation.  Because of the increased feelings of rewards connected to peer approval, students engage when surrounded by peer engagement.  B.F. Skinner's operant conditioning model suggests that it is the desire of rewards or avoidance of punishments is the primary driver for learning.  For teens, rewards and punishments are linked with this social approval.  While it can also lead to disruption in the classroom as student focus shifts, it is more likely that peer influences help keep students in check and motivated about a task, especially a group task.  But it is not the only reason students are likely to perform better in social settings.

Psychologist Albert Bandura's Social Learning Theory is based on the idea that learning is a complex process that is the result of both active participation and practice, but it also takes place vicariously through observation and modeling. Students who are not directly participating in an activity or discussion are observing, listening, and gleaning information and skills from within a group setting. When working alone, students are left without this opportunity. 

Social interaction also increases the quality of learning in a variety of ways.  Students who have the opportunity to communicate directly with their peers practice organizing their thoughts and reflecting on their overall understanding.  It can provide opportunities to find gaps within their reasoning as they discuss, share information, or even listen to others.  In a study of the impact of social interaction on student learning from Missouri State University, participants reported that they were more engaged, felt more comfortable in the classroom environment, had better comprehension and were more likely to attend class.  Social interaction not only creates a safer and more enjoyable environment for students to learn, it facilitates learning and provides neurological advantages for improved learning.

Oxytocin, a hormone produced in the hypothalamus which regulates our "tend and defend" response, is the neurotransmitter released during moments of intimacy and positive social interaction.  It is what creates that "warm and fuzzy" feeling when we hug, it is what helps mothers emotionally bond to their children, and it drives our need for partnership and connection with other human beings.  Feelings like empathy, concern or generosity are all increased with the introduction of oxytocin.  Increased levels of oxytocin have been connected with improved performance in the classroom as it reduces stress and counteracts the effects of the stress hormone cortisol.  It helps create an attitude conducive with learning and promotes positive social interaction. When provided with opportunities to connect with their peers, students are gaining this neurological advantage.  

We need to meet students where they are

Psychologist Lev Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory is based on the premise that cognitive development in children is advanced through social interaction with others and that a learner cannot reach their full potential without social influence and interaction.  His concept of the Zone of Proximal Development is based on the need for scaffolding of instruction and  guided practice to bridge the gap between what a child can do on their own and what they have not yet mastered.

Much of the instruction and practice both in and out of classrooms today is built on this process.  When learning to ride a bicycle, a child first relies on training wheels or a parent to steady the bike until they master the skill of maintaining balance.  Without that intermediate help, the task of riding a bike is out of reach for the child alone. Students are given guided instruction as they work to understand new material.  It is only through gradual progression and meeting students at the bridge between what they can do and what they cannot do, that they are able to successfully develop and master new skills.

Meeting students where they are has become a primarily digital practice as schools work to become online institutions.  If we want to increase engagement, if we want to help facilitate student learning, we need to increase the social interaction they have with their peers, and we have to meet them at the bridge between their own mastery and where we would like them to be.  For many students, they feel most comfortable and confident with the use of social media platforms. Where we need to help them get to is using those platforms to connect with intentional purpose.  The experience of losing a major portion of their school year, of adapting to a new educational landscape is incredibly difficult.  Students are confused, frustrated and anxious.  Building effective programs is definitely a priority, but so is helping students feel safe by returning to some sense of normalcy.  Communicating and processing with their peers is also a major piece to that puzzle.

In order to increase engagement, we must increase that which will have the largest impact on student motivation.  Peer interaction is the primary driving force for action for most adolescents and teens. The normal environment for many of our students has been completely altered, leaving students with an inability to connect.  While schools have been able to leverage extrinsic motivators such as grades or graduation requirements to spur students forward, we have drastically underestimated the motivational factors of the physical and social immediacy of the classroom.  Instead of working within a community of learners, most students are now isolated from one of their largest motivating factors.

As educators, we may have hesitations about stepping into the digital world that many of our students utilize.  In 1908, George Palmer, a philosophy professor at Harvard for 40 years wrote in his book The Ideal Teacher, "instead of lamenting the imperviousness of our pupils, we had better ask ourselves more frequently whether we have neatly adjusted our teachings to the conditions of their mind."

Are we using tools and strategies that will best facilitate their method of learning, or are we using tools and strategies that will best facilitate our preferred method of teaching? Perhaps it is because those platforms are outside of our own area of expertise.  If so, what better way to bridge that gap than working with the group who is already there? 

Social interaction increases motivation, effectiveness, and opportunity and is an integral component of education and learning.  Intentionally increasing social interactions with their peers has to be a priority if we want to best help our students. Human beings need each other.  We have been programmed over generations to work as a part of a community.  It keeps us safe, it keeps us healthy, and it gives us the greatest advantage and opportunity to be successful. 

What are we really teaching students during the Covid-19 pandemic?

What are we really teaching students during the Covid-19 pandemic?

As of April 19th, there have been over 50 million students who have faced school closures in the United States.  At least 35 million students will not be returning to school this academic year, and nearly every student in the United States has faced some change to their daily routine or schedule.

For both teachers and students, the last few months have been a challenge to create and work within a new framework, which comes with both unique problems and new opportunities.  Teachers have had to create new methods of communicating, teaching, and evaluating learning.  Administrations have had to examine and restructure expectations to meet with new guidelines from governing bodies.  Students have had to learn new platforms and adapt to increases in personal responsibility and time management.

One of the primary areas of concern has been how students will access material, be held accountable, or meet the standards of their classroom.  The ability to be resilient, self-motivated and manage their time might be the most important lesson they take away from this experience.  It is difficult, frustrating, and might pay of dividends in the future if approached appropriately. 

We are now faced with greater disparity between degrees of student opportunity.  Those who have readily access to the internet or resources and those who do not is only part of the story.  The gap between the varying factors of privilege, of wealth inequality and other discrepancies are moving towards the forefront of educational policies.  Now, more than ever, we are also grading a student's ability to self-regulate.  But are we teaching it?

The modern American education system is built on a foundation of co-regulation principles.  We do not expect students to take full responsibility of regulating their time, actions, or behaviors.  We use bells, schedules, units of instructions, even dress codes to help students manage how they learn and behave in the school setting.  The school building itself is designed to help students construct a physical environment to improve learning.  

This creates less of a demand on executive function, which is still developing during the school age years.  Students do not need to decide how to manage their time, the bell does.  They do not need to decide when to eat, they are assigned a lunch. Students do not need to decide what content area they will focus on, they are provided standards.  Students have been trained to rely on this co-regulation as they are part of a system that uses this scaffolding to supplement their developing executive function.

Recently, that scaffolding was removed.  The training wheels were suddenly taken off and a new level of personal responsibility was placed on their shoulders.  It should not be shocking to any educator that those students who required constant reminders, often forgot their homework, or struggled to stay on task were more likely to fall behind.  Students who have limited support structures outside of the classroom are now in a place of larger cognitive requirement as they must figure out not only what to do, but also how, where, and when to do it.  

Shifting Curriculum Focus

We often forget that content is often a vehicle to teach more important skills that are required beyond the classroom.  The Covid-19 pandemic has increased the attention on issues of education that have been lurking in the shadows for decades, and one of those issues is the division between hard skills (content) and soft skills (behaviors).  Bruce Tulgan, who specializes in management training, remarked that "people get hired because of their hard skills, but get fired because of their soft skills."  In a three year study conducted by Leadership IQ, a global leadership training and research company, 20,000 new hires were tracked after being hired in public, private businesses and healthcare organizations.  Nearly 50% of these new hires were let go with eighteen months of being hired, but only 11% were because they lacked the technical skills required.  89% were let go because of a lack of various soft skills such as lack of motivation, coachability, and social emotional skills.

Organizations like Forbes, Rasmussen College, and Monster.com list similar skills that employers are looking for in the digital age.  The include problem solving, communication, flexibility, time management, resiliency and initiative; which are the same skills we can focus and hone with the recent changes to most schools across the country.  The question is whether we are looking at this as roadblock to traditional education, or an opportunity?  Are we helping our students to practice these skills in a real-world situation? 

In order to help students get the best possible outcome from this situation, it requires thoughtful and intentional practice, and also a willingness to change our focus. 

Skills such as controlling emotions, time management, impulse control, and self-regulation are all attributes of executive function and are vital to roles of individual responsibility.  These skills extend beyond the workplace and play a role in how we interact with friends, family and community.

We can help students practice improving their attention and focus without their normal structures and routines in place.  A study conducted at the Mind, Brain and Behavior Research Center has shown that students improved their ability to focus and maintain attention when provided with guided practice followed by personal reflection.  Students experienced greater growth when the child understood the training process.  While executive function is largely connected with brain development, it can also be trained and developed with intentional scaffolding and the use of co-regulation.

The truth is that schools and teachers have always played a role in the development of executive function and its correlated soft skills such as time management, focus, inhibition control and planning. The natural progression from co-regulation to self-regulation is the unspoken backbone of human cognitive development.  As students struggle with lack of the routine structures that helped facilitate their learning it provides schools with a unique opportunity to shift their attention and focus on how to improve skill sets and practices that are only going to become more opportune in a digital world. Focusing on building these skills should be our priority, even before our content. Make it very clear to students that part of what they are learning and what we want them to practice is how to manage their time or adapt to new scenarios. Now, without the added support of our physical structures, we need to increase our role as co-regulators of their executive function. 

As many businesses and organization move towards increased online or work-from-home scenarios, students are being provided a trial-by-fire tutorial in potential changes to the global workforce.  Schools are now being afforded the opportunity to facilitate learning that is directly applicable and has been pushed to the forefront of a changing landscape.  The Covid-19 pandemic will become one of the defining moments of this generation and schools should be sending a message to our students about what they can do instead of what they cannot.  It should be seen as an opportunity to develop resiliency and problem solving, to practice time management and personal responsibility.  How we handle this event will have lasting impacts on our students, but it won't necessarily be about content.  

Why can't you just focus?

Why can't you just focus? 

Structures of the neurodiverse (ADD/ADHD) brain 

What is often frustrating for parents, teachers, and even individuals with ADD/ADHD is how they can focus intensely in some instances but struggle to sit still and work in others.  How can someone choose to work for extended periods of time on one thing only to insist that it is impossible for them on another?  Instead of being able to motivate themselves internally, there seems to be the need for an external motivator, a parent or teacher, standing over their shoulder to keep them on task.

In this case, it is important to remember that internal motivation is often a product of self-regulation, and self-regulation can be much more challenging for the neurodiverse brain.  Understanding the difference between self-regulated focus and concentration, and interest-based focus and concentration is key to understanding the external behaviors of individuals with ADD/ADHD.  It is important to keep in  mind this neurological difference and how it manifests in behavior.  Distinguishing these differences can help bridge the gap between attention and focus.

You've probably had this experience.  You're watching TV, reading a book, working on homework or some other task and you are interrupted by someone asking you an unrelated question.

"What time is your appointment tomorrow?"

"Huh?  What did you say?" And then, before they can repeat their question, you answer it. "It's at noon." 

The  momentary delay is the result of the brain switching from one context to another. This is the primary difference between attention and focus or concentration.  Attention is a function of the brain to ensure that you are aware of your surroundings. It is hearing the question; it is the sensing of stimuli.  Focus is the conscious investment into a specific task or stimuli; it is thinking of the answer and then vocalizing it. 

Sustained focus can be achieved without conscious choices or deliberate actions.  Getting caught up in a conversation with a friend or becoming hyper-focused on a competitive game or activity are often achieved with little conscious effort.  Hyper-focus can be unintentional, and is usually based on personal value, entertainment or pleasure, or pressing need. Each of these can help someone get lost in what they are doing, or what has come to be known as "flow state."

Achieving this intense focus can be difficult at times and may require conscious choice or deliberate actions.  This is where the Prefrontal Cortex plays a vital role.  It falls under the domain of executive function to force ourselves into this flow state.  This might involve finding a quiet place to work, setting a timer to help manage time and attention, or simply telling ourselves "I have to get this done."  Turning off the tablet or cellphone, going to the library or setting specific parameters for how long you will work on something are all conscious choices to limit distractions and limit our attentive spectrum. One of the major differences between a neurodiverse ADD/ADHD brain and a neurotypical brain is determining what it should focus on from a wide variety of attention grabbing stimuli. Differences in brain structures and functions can drastically affect the transition from attention to focus.

Major areas of the brain that help to regulate focus and attention are the Prefrontal Cortex; the Reticular Activating System (RAS); the Limbic System, which helps regulate emotions; and the Basal Ganglia, which is primarily associated with executive movements, but also plays a role in attention by working with the cerebral cortex to control desired actions. Each of these regions of the brain play a role in attention and focus, and each of these regions of the brain can be affected in someone who has ADD/ADHD. In this case, it might lead to an inability to focus or lack of motivation.  It can also make it difficult to avoid distraction or control emotions.  These are all examples of self-regulation that are more readily facilitated by a neurotypical brain.

The term "attention deficit" is somewhat misleading in that the ADD/ADHD brain may be highly attentive, but struggles to narrow focus to a single stimuli or action.  One of the functions of the Basal Ganglia is to transition between the involunary and the voluntary.  It acts as the brakes of a car that allows the driver to more easily control where it is going.  Similarly, the limbic system helps to control and regulate emotions while the RAS determines what stimuli should merit our conscious attention and what can be ignored. The Prefrontal Cortex is in charge of executive function, or the ability to self-regulate which plays a major role in transitioning from attention to focus.

When these areas of the brain are affected, it can be challenging, if not impossible to maintain focus on a task.  Additionally, it is difficult to even reason WHY a task should merit focus and attention. The ability to consciously focus, to limit distractions, or to assign meaningful ancillary value are all facets of self-regulation and can be hindered in the ADD/ADHD brain. For example, jumping through a hoop has no immediate value in and of itself, but may be a part of a larger process.  The neurotypical brain can rationalize the importance of the hoop as a step towards a large goal, the neurodiverse brain struggles with the lack of immediate value or relevancy; it may even rebel against it.

Yet, the neurodiverse brain is absolutely capable of sustained focus and attention, if not hyper-focus. It just often requires it to be interest-based.  If a stimuli or activity is novel, urgent, or high interest, there is often no noticeable hindrance in thinking or activity by an individual with ADD/ADHD. Flow state is achieved if and when there is immediate and inherent interest. 

While the neurotypical brain will also focus on something that is interest-based, it has an easier time assigning secondary value to a task which is not perceived as engaging or interesting. This might be rationalizing that is important to someone else, or that it is needed to achieve a desired grade our outcome.  It also makes it easier to perform the task if there is an associated reward or punishment.  This is why pleading or bribery may not work on a child or student with ADD/ADHD, as they may find it more difficult to assign secondary value to a primary activity.  Differences in these neurological forms and functions affect the ease and ability of making the choice of when and how to focus.

Understanding these differences in how the brain weighs out sensory information and stimuli may help some of the confusion and frustration that can accompany ADD/ADHD.  Due to the incredibly complex and interconnected nature of the human brain, it is impossible to make a judgment as to exactly what is the ideal form and function, but recognizing these structures and functions can give insight into the incredibly diverse spectrum of human thinking and cognition.  Internal values and motivators are the combination of a myriad of biological and learned factors unique to each person and they are the keys to promoting active engagement. 

Growing Pains

Just below the knee cap, at the top of the shin, is an oblong elevation of bone where the patellar tendon connects from the quadriceps to the tibia.  During adolescence, in a period when many children experience growth spurts, this area can become inflamed due to rapid changes in tissue and increased activity levels.  Osgood-Schlotters Disease is caused by irritation of the growth plate, an area of soft tissue on the end of growing bones which can become stressed during this period. The inflammation can lead to painful swelling, and in extreme cases, increase the likelihood of traumatic injury to the patellar tendon or tibia.

For the most part, growing pains experienced by children are essentially harmless, manifested by sore muscles experienced during childhood, usually at night. Sometimes they will wake the child, but normally have no lasting effect, no limiting factors on movement, and typically cease by morning. Ultimately though, these pains have no lasting effect and can be contributed to the stretching and changing of muscles and other tissues.

Osgood-Schlotters is an extreme example of the painful effects that can be experienced as a part of growing up.  There are other examples of growing pains and discomforts associated with development.  These can vary from physical discomfort to mental stress or cognitive overload and even awkward social pratfalls.

It is nearly impossible to experience any meaningful growth without pain or discomfort.

Because meaningful growth can be painful, change or development is sometimes sacrificed for ease or comfort.  In extreme cases, an unwillingness to experience this natural progress of discomfort can lead to a cessation of growth, a stunting of the body or mind.

Physically, when the body is pushed beyond it's normal workload, it is forced to adapt to to meet the changing need in strength. When a muscle contracts, a series of chemical reactions occur in order to translate the food we eat into usable energy from movement called glycolysis.  The byproduct of this process is lactic acid which is removed from the body through the cellular respiration.  When the system goes anaerobic (without oxygen), and the production of lactic acid exceeds the bodies ability to break it down, this byproduct builds up in the muscle creates a burning sensation, soreness, and fatigue.  When the body returns to an aerobic state (with oxygen), the removal of waste material resumes and the pain ceases.

After a strenuous weight lifting working, muscle fibers will experience micro tears throughout the muscle body.  Sometimes this soreness will peak a few days after the workout and is known as delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS). As the muscles heal, inflammation, changes in calcium regulation, and other factors contribute to muscle soreness as the muscle repairs itself. After the healing process is complete, the muscle will have adapted to meet the needs of a greater potential workload.  They grow and become stronger.

It is not just physical changes that are preceded by pain or discomfort.  When learning new material, as the brain struggles to process, code and retain new information, a person may experience frustration, fatigue and discomfort.  The brain, through the process of neural plasticity, alters itself chemically, functionally, and physically to adapt to new requirements.  It literally grows and becomes stronger or more effective when pushed to a level of discomfort or challenge.  Without challenge, without struggle, the brain will atrophy--similar to a muscle when left unused.

It is not after pain that the mind and body grows, it is because of it.  The adaptation machine that is the human being has survived as a species due to it's ability to develop and learn from mistakes, through trial and error, and like a child touching a hot stove, the most significant changes result from the most painful experiences.

No fault can readily be attributed to a creature for trying to avoid pain, it is only natural to work towards an existence where joy and happiness are maximized while pain and suffering are minimized or even eliminated.  Where the fault lies is the abeyance of anything uncomfortable that might also lead to growth or development.

In today's world, the level of connection and communication in personal relationships has never seen the level of saturation that currently exist.  Social media, instant messaging, texting, video chatting allow for a level of constant connection between individuals.  Yet, it seems that this increased level of connectivity has led to a loss in personal accountability.  The term ghosting has now become a part of our social lexicon and is often argued about as becoming an acceptable social practice.  Ghosting is the sudden and unexplained ending of any relationship.  No messages, no returned calls, no social media connections.  All ties are simultaneously and unequivocally cut.

Sure, it is immediately easier not to have the conversation at all, but without those difficult conversations latent issues are left unresolved, communication skills are left underdeveloped, and there is little opportunity for reflective and introspective growth and development. For the person who has severed the tied, it is quick, painless and a means for avoiding uncomfortable conversations; the person who has been shut out is left deprived of closure and left with gnawing uncertainty. Avoiding uncomfortable conversations is a part of any relationship, whether it be romantic, professional, or political.

In the partisan nature of our political structure in the United States, polarization of parties is partly contributed to confirmation bias, or the tendency to weigh out information favorably to predisposed ideas.  Confirmation bias is another way of protecting ourselves from the uncomfortable process of being wrong or having to alter a deeply held schema.  Research suggests that confirmation bias limits a citizen's ability to learn and expand understanding.  In the online world, where access is nearly unlimited, but also can be filtered by ideological standpoints and beliefs, consumers of information tend to seek out only claims that adhere to their system of beliefs and to ignore dissenting information.

When provided a large amount of varied opinions and ideas, readers tend to seek out like-minded ideas and opinions and form aggregate groups which eliminate debate and lead to mass polarization.  Civil discourse and discussion is lost to heated arguments and anger and tension increase exponentially across the political divide. Civil disagreements are viewed as a mental trauma as our value of emotional safety takes the place of emotional and social development.  Compromise becomes impossible because it is too often born of challenging discourse.  We are forgoing the joy of offspring because of the pain of involved in the birthing process.

This feeling of pain avoidance at the cost of long term development can be even be seen in the way that children are raised in today's world of technology and advancement.  The difficulties of entertaining, disciplining, and educating children are often supplanted by electronic devices as young children spend more and more time on devices as a means of entertainment and pacification.  In the short term, it is much easier to deal with a fussy toddler by handing them a tablet or phone, but in the long run, it may be altering the neurological development of their brains. Studies have shown a correlation between screen time and development of white matter in the brain, the material which improves thinking, memory and cognition through connecting different areas and regions of the brain. Less white matter can lead to less efficient thinking and memory.  Avoiding the sometimes frustrating or difficult process of working with, playing with, and parenting young children can slow down or stunt their cognitive growth and development.

Having painful experiences is not only a part of the human experience, it is a necessity.  The entire human creature has evolved to evolve, and its primary function in the world is to adapt.  To change.  To grow and develop. Some of the changes that we go through as individuals are developmental and come with time and maturation.  Many other changes are the results of experience, and adaptation to stimuli or challenge.  Without challenge, without the need for change, then it simply does not happen.  Like Newton's first law of physics, an object will stay in a state of rest or inactivity unless acted upon by an outside force. That initial movement may be jarring, or even traumatic, but it is also the necessary impetus of motion and change.

Bubble Gum Fate

In 2018, global chewing gum sales eclipsed 30 billion dollars. Most chewing gum gets its flexible and lasting texture from a polyisobutene, a synthetic plastic polymer that allows it to be chewed for long periods of time without breaking down. Prior to 1928, when Walter Diemer came up with the modern pink bubble gum, humans practiced their continual mastication on resin, wax, or other natural materials.  Unfortunately, they did not have the same lasting effect, nor an enjoyable sugary taste.

Today, gum is one of the most commonly purchased and used goods on the planet. In 2005, 650,000 metric tons of chewing gum in the form of 3.74 trillion sticks were produced around the world. The synthetic material that makes chewing gum last while it is being enjoyed by both children and adults alike, make it last well beyond that as well; the synthetic material is neither digestible nor biodegradable. While not toxic to the chewer, they do create a problem that is often overlooked.  It simply does not go away.

Used chewing gum can often be found adhered to streets and sidewalks, sides of buildings, in landfills and sewers, and on the underside of countless chairs and desks around the world.  In fact, the likelihood of used chewing gum is so prevalent that the thought of reaching your hand towards the underside of a desk or table in a fast food restaurant is enough to make most people cringe.

Used gum ends up in these places the same way that litter ends up in a gutter or a grocery cart is left in the middle of a parking lot.  It is the "out of sight, out of mind" solution to minor inconveniences, but instead of being swept under the rug, they are stuck to the bottom of a desk.

We have all done it as some time or another.  We've found gum stuck to the bottom of our shoe, or felt the left over pieces of chewed materials when we reach down to adjust our chair or moved a table from one side of the room to another.  In that moment, what was once out of sight and out of mind has suddenly become alarmingly evident to our germaphobic psyche.  And we curse whoever put it there.

The basic psychological principal is that once something is no longer MY problem, it ceases to be A problem.  In reality, the problem still exists, it has simply been passed on to somebody else. In the United States, the average cost of a piece of gum is three cents.  The average cost of cleaning up a piece of gum from a sidewalk, wall, or chair is ten cents.   In Ireland, chewing gum makes up over 11% of litter left on the ground, and it has been reported that 92% of paving stones in Great Britain have had gum stuck to them at some point. And while the person who left the gum there is usually not the one cleaning it up, there is a good chance that their tax dollars are paying for it, as if karma comes with interest.

There are countless examples of stories of individuals through history who tried to cheat fate or avoid responsibility, only to have find them in the end.  Oedipus, who was hidden away by his mother because of a prophecy that he would kill his own father, eventually kills him anyways as a stranger at a crossroads brings a curse upon him and his family.  An entire generation of teenagers was terrified of following behind logging trucks because of a potential for disaster. These stories, and more like them, are all crafted as a warning that by trying to avoid a problem, we can create something worse.

In Greek drama, it is a form of Hamartia, a form of pride or flaw that leads to a character's downfall, most notably, while trying to avoid the downfall itself.  In many cases, it is attempt to avoid a problem in which another is created.  The moral of these types of stories is often summarized in the phrase "you can't cheat fate." Or, in modern terms, what goes around, comes around.

Whether it is out of fear, laziness, selfishness, or ignorance, it is not uncommon for any human being to try to deflect their responsibilities in order to avoid a minor inconvenience (sticking your gum beneath your chair) or an extremely painful or difficult situations (leaving the scene of a hit and run).  Large or small, the premise of it no longer being MY PROBLEM allows a person to justify their actions or lack of actions by telling themselves that it is no longer A PROBLEM.  Unfortunately, this is simply not the case as A PROBLEM eventually grows into OUR PROBLEM, and more often than not, it has become a much larger or more complicated issue with more adverse consequences.

The issue is that the cost is passed from the person who received something, to an unsuspecting person who has received nothing. Even if the cost is small, such scraping a chewed up piece of the sidewalk or walking the grocery cart back to the proper stall, it is still being paid for by someone who received no gain for their effort. 

The situation is easily seen when someone walks away from a restaurant without paying for their meal. It is still being paid for by chef's time who prepared it, the bus boy's effort who cleared the table, and the owner's money who paid for the materials, rent, electricity and silverware.

Passing responsibility is theft, but even worse is that cost of it grows with each new passing. It comes with additional aggravation, anger, or cost at overall greater expense of the collective whole. Similar to a piece of gum that costs more to clean up when thrown on the sidewalk than it does to actually manufacture, package, transport, sell and toss in the trash.  When a problem is passed on to someone else, it will almost always become a larger overall problem that if it had been handled appropriately.

The Corner of Efficiency and Laziness

If you consistently seek out the path or least resistance, you will inevitably find yourself at the bottom. 

Nielsen Norman Group is a research and consulting firm that was founded by Jakob Nielsen and Don Norman in 1998.  On their website, they have a list of clients that they have worked with since that time including companies like Google, Visa, National Geographic and The Smithsonian. In 2006, Nielsen published an article based on study of eye tracking patterns in which he introduced the "F-Shaped Pattern of Reading the Web." In essence, the F-shape is the result of reading the headline at the top of the page, skimming the left hand side with horizontal movements down the page at points of interest.

Imagine yourself reading the headline first then skimming the first few words of each paragraph, and stopping briefly on the ones that seem most relevant or interesting.   In his article, he implied that readers will not fully read a text, but focus on the the first two paragraphs and sub-headings and bullet point information. Instead of reading for depth, or to gain as much information as possible, readers are usually only looking for a few key ideas and then moving on, usually to post a comment about how much they agreed or disagreed with it.

The F-Shaped pattern of skimming a text is not the only time-saving method that is used when accessing information online.  There are several others, including the layer-cake pattern, spotted pattern, bypassing pattern an others, each designed to help the reader minimize interaction cost, the sum of efforts required to attain a goal. The driving force behind these patterns is to maximize the potential rewards while expending the least amount of time and energy to do so. It is only the commitment pattern in which an individual exert energy to fixate on all the content and read all of the material presented.

Henry David Thoreau wrote "the cost of a thing is the amount of what I call life which is required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run."  Usually, even this quote is ironically truncated into "the price of anything is the amount of life you pay for it." And most, if not all living creatures on this earth are usually trying to minimize this interaction cost, trying to get as much as they can for as little as possible, whether it be time, effort, work, money, or energy.

This is the principle of least effort, and it is a principle of life at almost every level.

When certain cells move through the body, such as white blood cells or metastatic cancer cells, they choose the path of least resistance through the tissue.  Researchers have proven this by placing these mobile cells in a "maze" of different size pours. These cells would test each pour size and then follow the largest of the choices, which would be the easiest to travel through. Researches studying how E. coli adapts to treatment through ampicillin has found that it will evolve and mutate in different ways depending on the concentration of the antibiotic, effectively choosing the one that requires the least amount of "cost" to the cell to make adaptations to survive.

If something is too complex or has too little reward it is not worth the effort. 

-I'm not even going to try to make an origami swan

In the animal kingdom, several animals typify the principal of least effort as a way to survive and thrive in a harsh world. The principle of least effort is about conserving energy or being as efficient as possible.  Examples include spotted turtles who spend winters near the bottoms of ponds and rivers and shunt their blood flow to vital organs, allowing them survive for five months without eating or breathing, penguins who waddle because walking requires too much of the energy that is required to stay warm in freezing temperatures, or birds and marine animals which use an undulating pattern allowing them to spend large amounts of time coasting downward with little or no effort.  These animals are being as efficient as possible with their energy expenditure.

This idea of being as efficient as possible, is not without its danger.  Whether viewed as the principal of least effort, or simply being as efficient as possible, this parsimony also removes the benefits of having to adapt through effort.  Anthropologists studying the evolution of two different human ancestors and the development of jaw muscle and tooth structure found that despite having different diets, both developed similar musculature and teeth.  The development was sub-optimal for the species, but workable for their diets because it required less adaptation.  It wasn't suited for the diet, but good enough without going through the rigors of adaptation.

Similar adaptations, or lack of adaptations have occurred with much more drastic results.  These include the vestigulation of certain traits, structures, or behaviors over time when they are not used.  This might include the loss of eyes in certain species of fish through epigenetic adaptation.  Simply put, because they did not use their eyes, they eventually disappeared from the species. Another example include flightless birds who at one point in history were capable of flying, but lost the ability simply because they no longer needed to do it.

When an activity lacks enough challenge, when it crosses the line from engaging to boring, the value that is attached to the reward also also diminishes and the skills or attributes required to accomplish it atrophy.  This is why as human beings develop, we usually find less enjoyment in activities that once kept us entertained as children.  In video games, once a level is mastered we seek for something more challenging, when we are able to ride a bike with training wheels, we quickly desire to take them off.  Yet, when we consistently are faced with activities that require no effort, are too easy, we lose desire to continue with it, even leaving rewards behind. In addition, and even more of a detriment to ourselves, we can also lose the necessary skills or knowledge we gained to become proficient in that specific area.  The term commonly used is "rusty."

If something is too easy, we do not feel a sense of accomplishment and are quick to drop it.

-Folding a piece of paper in half is boring so why even practice?

The question of whether these changes are overall net losses, or overall net gains depends on how you assess what is valuable and what is not. For human beings living in today's world, it goes simply beyond a calculation of work versus reward. Optimal happiness, feelings of success, motivational factors and personal choice all play a role in the decision about how much work someone is willing to do for a given result, but never before in history has a species been capable of getting so much "reward" at the expense out of so little work, and we might not fully understand the negative effects.

In 1949,  Harvard linguist George Kingsley Zipf proposed the principle of least effort as it pertained to human language.  He posited that language was evolving to become more efficient, using words such as math in place of mathematics or plane in lieu of airplane.  Language requires a certain level of complexity to convey the breadth of human thought, but once an abbreviation is understood, it is generally acceptable as a reasonable substitute.  Hi, gonna, sup, wanna, etc.  The question is at what cost comes this convenience?

In the October 2018 edition of Trends of Cognitive Science, authors Inzlicht, Shenhave and Olivola published "The Effort Paradox: Effort is Both Costly and Valued." The manuscript broke down, defined and examined the relationship between effort, motivation, rewards and satisfaction in human behavior.   The paradox comes in the acknowledgement that effort is difficult and most are averse to it.  When given a choice between exerting effort and not exerting effort for a similar reward, any reasonable person would choose not to put forth any effort.  But, effort in and of itself, adds to the reward of an item or process, or sometimes, is the reward itself.  

When given a choice between doing nothing and making $100 dollars, and putting forth great effort to make $100 dollars, most would choose to do nothing. But what if it was $100 for nothing, or $120 for something difficult? According to the manuscript, people are often willing to accept fewer rewards to avoid additional effort. Yet ironically, if someone worked for, or did something challenging for that same $100 dollars, they value it much more than the person who did nothing to earn it.  

This has been proven by studies in what has become known as the "IKEA Effect," which is that an individual, when required to work to put something together, values it much more than something that was simply given to them, even the free item has a higher financial cost. The more time and effort someone puts into something, the more they feel accomplished or a sense of self-satisfaction upon completion.  This is the basis of why the some of the greatest feelings of accomplishment come not from an event, but in the effort it took to make it to the event.  For example, physically standing on a mountain top is not the most rewarding aspect of mountain climbing, it is the effort it took to get there.  Had the person flown in a helicopter and landed on the peak, there would be little value beyond the impressive view.  

If significant time is put into something, the sense of reward is increased beyond the outcome.

-I'm keeping this origami swan forever because it took me a long time to make

Learned industriousness is the increase of motivation when a reward is increased by the effort it took to achieve.  It increases motivation for later and more challenging endeavors.  Entitlement is the unreasonable expectation of reward without effort, and it decreases future motivation for more challenging endeavors.

Motivation increases as difficulty and complexity increase, while apathy increases without stimuli forcing change.  Worse yet, when indifference is rewarded, it strengthens the aversion towards future activity-- and we live in a world where the effort to achieve has diminished to the point of worthlessness.  By making something easier, by giving more reward for less work, we are literally killing any future motivation to work towards greater goals, which is the root cause of entitlement.

If a reward is given for no effort, eventually the reward is seen as worthless.

-I'm just going to throw these origami swans away because I can get another one whenever I want

As technology increases around us, it takes on more of the responsibilities of human survival; things like farming, transportation, manufacturing and other professions. Through automation we will see a diminished need for expending any effort to acquire not only the basics of survival, but the comforts of prosperity as well.  It will take less and less effort to maintain a high standard of living, and the value placed on it will depreciate as well. Ready prepared meals delivered to your door, guaranteed incomes, lower standards of excellence, mitigated risks, instant gratification and amusements, or any program or convenience which pushes the boundaries between efficiency of indolence is more likely an unseen expense disguised as a free ride to nowhere. Contentment may soon be wither in the shadow of luxury. Like a fish with no eyes, we may find ourselves blinded by our own progress.

Unlike white blood cells, turtles, or flightless birds, human beings need to do more than "just survive" in order to maintain their overall health and well being.  Part of that survival is also a sense of accomplishment, value, contentment and contribution.  And, whether we like it or not, those feelings are the result of work put in, of effort, of struggle and facing failure.  Understanding that the greatest values of our efforts are not in the getting, but in the earning is hard lesson to learn.  It is difficult because like most things in life, the reward can only be found after the price has been paid in full, and taking a short cut only limits the journey.   

The Anatomy of Advantages

In the 1960's, Walther Mischel developed a simple experiment to help gauge self-control.  In the experiment, preschoolers were placed in a room with a single researcher and given a marshmallow.  The researcher would then leave the room for a period of time, but before leaving, they would tell the children they could either eat the marshmallow while they were gone, or wait to eat it and receive a second marshmallow when they returned.  

It was a pretty simple choice.  One treat now, or two treats later.

Some of the children quickly ate the marshmallow, unable to wait any amount of time for another reward.  Others, fought the urge to eat the first marshmallow and were rewarded with a second.  Researches documented which of the children were able to delay gratification, and which succumbed to the tasty temptation.  

In later studies, Mischel and his group revisited the children as teenagers to measure different areas of their lives and compare them with their results from the Marshmallow test.  What they found is that the children who were able to wait for the second marshmallow were more cognitive and socially competent, performed better academically, and coped better with stress and frustration.  Additionally, they were less likely to suffer from substance abuse, obesity, and were overall heather and more successful.

Even later still, another group of researchers from the University of Washington tracked down a portion of the original participants as adults and administered another series of tests measuring self-control.  They found that the results of the now adults were very similar to their results as preschoolers with most of them still performing along the same lines as their preschool selves years earlier.  Additionally, they also participated in an MRI scan to measure brain activity and structure.  What was discovered was that the adults who exhibited higher levels of self-control displayed more activity in the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain which controls executive functions such as impulse control, time management, planning and decision making.  The participants who showed less self-control had increased activity in the ventral striatum, a region thought to help process desires and rewards.

According to these results, it would appear that some individuals are neurologically inclined to seek out immediate rewards while other are programmed to delay gratification in search of greater opportunities.  Similar to how some individuals are taller and better suited for basketball, or have a more efficient cardiovascular system and make better swimmers.  This also extends beyond physical attributes and into mental and psychological areas as well as some might be more likely to suffer from clinical depression or have a better ear for music.

With the massive complexity of brain matter and diverse physiological factors, it is true that some individuals are born with advantages in certain areas. Some children simply struggle to control the impulse to eat the first marshmallow more than their peers.  Some people have advantages that help them learn a second language, play the guitar or shoot a basketball, others struggle with fine motor skills or memorization which makes these skills much more difficult to master.  

This implies that some individuals are better wired for success from a young age. 

But none of these strengths and weaknesses are set in stone.  It may be more difficult for someone to learn to play an instrument, but not impossible.  It simply takes more time and effort to adapt.  Nor does it mean that the individual who is a has a natural talent for swinging a baseball bat will become a professional ball player.  What is needed in both cases is time and effort to hone their skills, and that requires self-control.

The key to this development is differentiating between the process and the product.  When making a decision, it is important to separate these two ideas.  If you have a goal of maintaining a certain weight, there is a process and a product.

Eating a quart of ice cream every night after dinner is a process.

Gaining 5 pounds in a week is the product.

Running three miles every morning is a process.

Losing five pounds is the product.

Delayed gratification is the ability to choose a more beneficial product over a less enjoyable process.  It is choosing between what we want to do and what we want to get.  There are two primary difficulties faced when making this choice: ease and immediacy.

Eating ice cream every night is easier than running every morning.  It gives more immediate positive results.  Eating ice cream now is better than running now.  Gaining five pounds is less desirable than losing five pounds, and not immediately noticed.  The contradiction of choice is apparent, but in the moment it is difficult not to make the a decision based on immediacy and ease.

In psychology, the Construal-Level Theory of Psychological Distance is based on how we view time and our relationship with it.  One area of the theory revolves around motivation, and how levels of motivations increase with the decrease of distance in space and time.  In layman's terms, the closer something is, or the sooner it is, the more important it is.  This is the framework of procrastination.  Human beings are more motivated by something that gets immediate results or is in response to an immediate need.  One marshmallow now is better than two marshmallows later. According to this model, it is not the one or two which is the deciding factor, it is the now or later. It is how we are wired from birth. 

The ability to manage time, weigh out risks, delay gratification are all processes that are controlled in the prefrontal cortex and fall under the umbrella of executive functions of the brain. It is what creates our ability to weigh out and place values on the one and the two in conjunction with the now and the later as opposed to being superseded by it.  Self-discipline is facilitated by an increase in brain matter and usage within the prefrontal cortex and is partially influenced by its structural size.  It has a naturally occurring development over time, as well as a genetic predisposition that makes it easier for some individuals to make decisions based on the product instead of the process, to choose long term goals over short term pleasures, and it comes more naturally to some than others. 

The danger is assuming that these are inescapable facets that cannot be overcome, developed, or increased over time, that this a structural or genetic identity which is permanent and not something that can change.  This concept of growth mindset has been championed over recent years by Carol Dweck and explained in depth in her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.  This idea of improving intelligence, skill, or capability from a learner's standpoint as been a shift in the ideology that many people hold about a single person's ability to change, the belief that our skills, intelligence or even beliefs are static.  

Taking this a growth a step further, it is not just about mindset or belief, but it is a physical growth that occurs within the brain itself.  Neural Plasticity, the capacity for the brain to modify itself functionally and structurally has also been gaining support and attention the areas of science, education, and psychology.  One of the more stunning pieces of evidence to support this idea is contained within the brain's of London's taxi cab drivers.

In order to become a licensed cabby in London, a driver must pass a knowledge test of the roughly 25,000 streets, avenues and alleys, as well as 20,000 landmarks, businesses, clubs, hospitals, and points of interest where someone might want to go.  what makes it even more challenging is the nature of the streets, directions and placements of roads in London as it has been growing organically over hundreds of years and not built on a planned geometrical grid system with easy to follow patterns.  It is a sprawling mess on interconnected veins that make up the beating heart of England.  It takes most candidates two to four years to study for and pass the test, and only about one if five who attempt the test actually pass it, despite the fact that it can be taken as many times as you like.  

In a series of studies performed by neuroscientists, it was discovered that London taxi cab drivers had more gray matter in their posterior hippocampi, an area associated with spatial awareness.  It would seem that those who passed the test already had brain structures better suited for memorizing locations. But, in later studies performed on applicants preparing for the tests, it was shown that brain development occurred while they were working towards memorization.  MRI scans showed definite growth in the hippocampus that was not present before they began the process of preparation for the test. Additional tests showed that those who experienced this development also performed better on memory tests no associated with the streets of London than those who had not prepared for this test.  Not only did they knowledge base increase, but their cognitive functions as well.

This type of growth and development can be seen in other areas as well.  Jugglers demonstrate growth in the parietal lobe which helps process information involving how we track objects and move. Piano players show increases in areas required for auditory processing and motor skills.  Science supports the theory that our brain adapts structurally to meet the requirements of the work we choose to do.  That is the neurological principal of learning and growth. Improved cognitive function is a product; practice, work and repetition are the process. 

Metaphorically, someone who is six feet tall can quickly reach an item on an upper shelf, because they have a physical advantage to complete that task.  Someone who is five feet tall takes more time, as they have to change the structure and take the time and effort to locate and introduce a step ladder.  Some children cannot resist the urge to eat the first marshmallow because it actually is more difficult for them. That does not mean that they will always make that choice nor does it mean they are destined for failure, but, they will have to work harder for that second marshmallow.