Brain Matters Newsletter - Vol. 2, No. 16 - May 13, 2016

Happy Friday the 13th_
Today is Friday the 13th in the Northern hemisphere. This is day that is thought to be unlucky in most western cultures. Psychiatry has even identified a condition for people with a severe fear of the number 13 - Triskaidekaphobia. When coupled with a Friday, we seem to have acquired a shared superstition that is hard to explain. You can find a number of theories about which bad event in our past started the belief that Friday that fall on the 13th day of the month are unlucky, but no one seems to know for sure. Read more...


The Psychology and Neuroscience of the Underdog Effect: Why We're all Leicester City Football Fans!     

I wrote this post on the day that the 5,000 to 1 longshot
Leicester City Foxes football (in the U.S. "Soccer") team clinched the 2016 Premier League Championship title. Since this is arguably the biggest underdog victory in the history of sports, it seems like a good time to investigate how we respond to underdogs. We need to delve into psychology as well as neuroscience to understand this phenomenon, and what it might mean to the learning professional.

This post also gives me an opportunity to demonstrate how neuroscience validates and deepens our understanding of human behavior as hypothesized by psychology. These two branches of science are not in competition so much as working on complementary tracks towards the same end. Read more...

Read more posts on my Brain Matters Blog... 
Featured Podcast
Why Learning and Caring Go Together: Interview with Dr. Paul Zak 

 
Paul J. Zak is a scientist, prolific author, entrepreneur, TV personality, and public speaker.  He is credited with the first published use of the term "neuroeconomics" and has been a thought leader in this new discipline. Dr. Zak is also a recognized expert in oxytocin. His lab discovered in 2004 that oxytocin allows us to determine who to trust. His current research is showing that oxytocin is responsible for virtuous behaviors, working as the brain's "moral molecule." This knowledge is being used to understand the basis for civilization and modern economies, improve negotiations, and treat patients with neurologic and psychiatric disorders. I had the pleasure to talk to Dr. Zak about his work recently and we found many practical applications of his research to the work of the learning professional.
Featured Infographic Resources

In this space I usually feature a well-designed infographic for learning. This time I thought I'd share some sites that will give you templates to make it easier to build your own infographic. Be aware that some of these sites start off with a free trial but you'll pay by the month if you want to continue. Other sites may ask you to give them credit in your published materials. Either way, they can save you tons of time and make your work look professional and polished.

Start with my article for ATD on the process of designing this type of graphic organizer. Then enjoy these sites and create away. If you'd like to have your infographic featured in a future issue of this newsletter, send it to me for consideration.
Buy it now!
What's on Margie's Bookshelf?
The Accidental Trainer: A Reference Manual for the Small, Part-Time, or One-Person Training Department
by Nanette Miner

Why I like it
Let's face it - a lot of us become learning professionals by accident and need to catch up quickly on the job. The Accidental Trainer is a hands-on resource that provides these "accidental" trainers with the basic tools they need to be successful-from understanding the various roles they will play to identifying where best to apply limited time and resources. This book by Brain Matters 21015 speaker Nanette Miner offers a wealth of information for working within the constraints of a small, part-time, or one-person training department.
 
See all the books on Margie's Bookshelf! 

If you could understand what was happening in the brains of your target audience, would you be a more effective trainer, designer, consultant, or leader?

Thanks to recent advances in neuroscience, learning and talent development professionals now have an opportunity to alter their approaches to change management, leadership development, training, and instructional design.

Learn how the brain receives, encodes, and retrieves information to construct knowledge, and use these insights to improve your learning programs.

Visit the ATD site for full details.


Upcoming Event_ Enterprise Learning_ Conference 2016 _Jun 6-8_ Anaheim_

The Enterprise Learning! Conference 2016  (ELC16) hosts the exclusive Learning & Workplace Technology Conference for corporate, government and higher education executives. ELC16 provides executives an engaged environment to network, share and learn from leaders across the globe. Coupled with cutting edge research, Learning! 100 award winners, and expert learning technologists, this is the "Must Attend" forum for learning and performance executives.

Read more about this conference and Margie's Workshop: Smarter Brains for a Smarter Organization