Booth Muller

Voice Mail October 1993

In the morning, do you reach for a favorite coffee cup or select an attractive outfit to wear to a meeting? Did the sleek and modern design of your smartphone influence your buying decision? What about your go-to websites? Are you drawn to the ones that are attractive and well-designed rather than those that are cluttered and difficult to read? You would probably agree that the visual design of a product influences your choices and buying decisions. And you most likely know that people prefer to use attractive products rather than poorly-designed ones. But you may not realize the extent to which design can impact a person’s emotions, which in turn affects how people think and learn. A Common MisconceptionMany of us have a common misconception—fueled by outdated science—that emotions and cognition are two independent functions. At one time, researchers were certain that cognition and emotion operated as two separate systems. Underlying this theory was the idea that emotions and feelings were a lower order function as compared to higher order rational thinking.Current research has basically done away with these older theories. We now know that emotion and cognition are interdependent. Emotions are crucial for quickly assessing a situation and for making decisions. There is also much data to show that positive emotions are particularly important for learning, solving problems, creative work, and innovation. This is because positive emotions, in most circumstances, enable more flexible and adaptive thinking (Isen, 2002).Aesthetics Evoke Positive EmotionsAlthough instructional design typically focuses on the cognitive aspects of learning, a new line of research is now exploring the affective dimension too. Known as “emotional design,” this research looks at the ways a learner’s feelings and mood can influence motivation and learning results.One obvious way to influence people is through visual aesthetics, or the appreciation of an appealing design. Thus, the importance of visual design in learning is gaining in stature and will become increasingly important in years to come. Initial research has already shown that evoking positive emotions in learners through an attractive visual design (layout, colors, imagery, etc.) can help facilitate a successful learning experience (Plass et al., 2014).As a learning experience designer, this presents new opportunities for success. It means visual design is another channel for reaching your audience and influencing learning outcomes. It means that by making e-learning courses, training slides, and other materials visually appealing, you may be able to increase motivation and enhance the learning process by influencing the learner’s emotions.Some Ways Aesthetics Can Enhance LearningHere are four of the many ways that aesthetics can evoke positive emotions and in turn, facilitate learning.Enhanced Value. People make rapid judgements based on sensory input and are instantly attracted to aesthetically pleasing objects, while rejecting those that are unappealing. Learners quickly judge the materials they use in a similar way. Not only do well-designed materials increase the appeal of the learning experience, learners will be more likely to judge the materials as credible and valuable. And perceived value is an important factor to adult learners. Increased Motivation. When learners experience positive emotions (which can be evoked through an attractive visual design), it can foster intrinsic motivation or the desire to learn without an external reward (Heidig et al., 2015). In addition, with an attractive design, the learning tasks are perceived as less difficult when compared to a neutral design (Um et al., 2012). Avoidance of Negative Emotions. One factor of an appealing design is its usability or how easy it is to attain one’s intended goal. In multimedia course design, the goals will vary according to task—navigating, playing videos, completing exercises, and taking tests, for instance. A design with a pleasing aesthetic will have the simplicity required to enhance task completion. It will help users avoid the negative emotions associated with poor designs, such as frustration and dissatisfaction, therefore enhancing the learning experience. Perceived Ease of Use. In the groundbreaking book, Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things (2005), author Donald Norman demonstrated the significance of aesthetics. He presented research showing that people perceive well-designed objects as user-friendly. In one experiment with an ATM machine, subjects perceived the attractively designed screen as easier to use than the unattractive screen design, even though both had the same buttons and functionality. Visual aesthetics enhanced the user experience. Considering how we are influenced and impressed by beautiful designs, it’s not surprising that aesthetics can have a significant impact on cognition and learning. By improving the visual design of e-learning courses, slides, learning portals, and similar learning tools, you can have a powerful effect on the learning experience. And isn’t that a common goal of learning professionals everywhere? For more visual design tips from Connie, check out her new book Visual Design SolutionsReferencesHeidig, S., Müller, J., & Reichelt, M.  Emotional design in multimedia learning: Differentiation on relevant design features and their effects on emotions and learning. Computers in Human Behavior, 44, 81–95, 2015. Isen, A. Missing in Action in the AIM: Positive Affect's Facilitation of Cognitive Flexibility, Innovation, and Problem Solving. Psychological Inquiry, 13(1), 57-65, 2002.Plass, J., Heidig, S., Hayward, E., Homer, B., & Um, E. Emotional design in multimedia learning: Effects of shape and color on affect and learning. Learning and Instruction, 29, 128–140, 2014. Um, E., Plass, J., Hayward, E., & Homer, B. Emotional design in multimedia learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(2), 485–498, 2012.

Why Aesthetics Matter to Learning

In the previous blog, “The Purpose of Performance Management: Redefining Aspiration,” we articulated what goals the performance management approach must accomplish no matter its design. Now, let’s examine how to significantly improve performance management in today’s dynamic, complex work environment.__ There is appetite for performance management reform, but the options can be overwhelming and expensive. CEB has identified the three shifts companies must make to significantly improve performance management that is both scalable and cost-effective: 1) reinventing how performance goals are set, 2) providing ongoing feedback, and 3) recasting performance ratings.  Reinventing Performance Goals Many organizations use cascading goals in an attempt to tie organizational objectives to individual work. But because the cascade is sequential, it’s incredibly time-consuming and the intent of the original goal can get lost. SMART goals are flawed, too. They’re used to ensure all employees make progress against specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound work. But applying a one-size-fits-all rule reduces differentiation among employees and often fails to challenge them. Instead, organizations should have business units and employees set their own goals by “linking up” to the organization’s objectives. This approach avoids having to wait for each level above to complete its cascade and allows for a more direct line of sight between an individual’s goals and the organization’s objectives. Furthermore, keep goals brief, meaningful, sufficiently challenging, and reasonable. Some examples:By X date, launch the webpage advertising the new product.Handle at least X service calls per day, with fewer than Y callbacks for the same problem.Enhance division visibility by publishing an article on X topic by Y date. Providing Ongoing Feedback Many organizations require mid-year performance reviews, hoping that formality will breed accountability. But getting feedback once or twice a year is too infrequent to impact behavior and performance. Additionally, formalized processes are viewed as burdensome and time-consuming and rarely yield performance improvement.  The best companies train managers to provide “teaching-focused” feedback on an ongoing basis. Teaching-focused feedback is delivered informally and provides forward-looking coaching, which gives employees the guidance and structure needed to practice and solidify critical new behaviors in the context of day-to-day work. Here’s an example: “Let’s discuss how the meeting went. What do you think went well? Any lessons learned for the future? What would you do differently next time? I agree, Sam seemed to dominate the conversation—what techniques will you try next time to make things more balanced?” Recasting Performance Ratings CEB research has debunked several key myths associated with performance ratings. First, while many organizations assume that ratings provide the data needed for effective decision making, research shows that there is no correlation between individual performance ratings and business unit performance. The next myth is that employees want to know where they stand relative to peers. But because most employees believe they’re above-average performers, ratings tend to frustrate more than inform. Lastly, employers often assume they must rate every employee’s performance in case of litigation. However, less than five percent of employees in the average organization are poor performers, making extensive documentation for everyone a wasted effort. The question of whether to have performance ratings is complex and requires thoughtful analysis. Ultimately, the problem to solve for is reducing the performance review burden. To do this, the best companies:set challenging but achievable goals, and evaluate the impact of resultsreduce or eliminate documentation for performance that is meeting or exceeding expectations, and eliminate self-assessments altogether as they don’t actually help improve performancechange the annual review from retrospection to a forward-looking career conversation. Formal performance management approaches often undermine the very behaviors that lead to high performance and can pit employees against each other, stifle performance conversations, and even result in manipulation of the system to achieve a particular rating level. Effective performance management provides meaningful, real-time feedback. More importantly, it ensures employees have clear expectations, can solve problems, and are coached to achieve their maximum performance levels. Editor’s note: The next installment of this blog series will discuss how to make and sustain behavior change. You can learn more about high-performance cultures at cebglobal.com.

Booth Muller

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