Ever watch Deal or No Deal? The banker offers you $10,000 but if you continue playing you might win $1 million? Do you take the $10,000 or try for the $1 Million. Obviously, if the odds are 50-50 you'd shoot for the million. If the odds are, well, one in a million you'd take the $10,000.In this fascinating article they connected 24 college students to a brain scanner. The students were then given an option of taking a lump sum of money or gambling for a higher payout. (Like Deal or No Deal.)
On some decisions they were given advice from an expert. The study found that when given expert advice the students' brains shut down. They did not critically examine their options. They accepted the advice which was often purposefully bad.
This study explains why Rush Limbaugh listeners parrot everything Rush says... and since Rush repeatedly tells them how "intelligent" and "independent thinking" they are they falsely believe they are most well informed audience in the world.
Do students' brains shut down during lectures, then? I'm not being a smart ass, but just wondering, because I know I sat through my econ classes not knowing what was going on.
ReplyDeleteNo, no, no! I initially wrote the post from the standpoint that every teacher talks about developing critical thinking skills. We want to believe that our students are not simply memorizing stuff... when, in fact, that's what they are doing most of the time.
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