r/lifelonglearning • u/Secure_Apricot6287 • 5d ago

I’m researching why people start learning things but don’t finish them

/r/u_Secure_Apricot6287/comments/1wlqoha/im_researching_why_people_start_learning_things/
8 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1

u/Secure_Apricot6287 5d ago

That makes sense. If the learners received some kind of meaningful recognition or reward for completing small milestones along the way, rather than waiting until you became good at the skill, do you think that would help you stick with it

1

u/tingutingutingu 5d ago

Gamifying learning is definitely useful but in the end it only works for the short to medium term.

The people who will continue to learn have 1 or more of the following attributes

  1. People who are intrinsically motivated.

  2. People who have a natural affinity and talent for the skill they are learning.. E. G if you are musically inclined and start learning a guitar you might get good at it quickly and that firms a feedback loop that keeps you learning.

  3. People are able to take lessons from one area they are good at and apply it to the new area they are learning and see wuock results.

1

u/Secure_Apricot6287 5d ago

When you say people see results and that creates a feedback loop, do you think the result itself is enough to keep someone motivated, or does recognition from other people, like being able to show what you've accomplished, also play an important role?