7. Learning Is Emotional

Why emotion is critical to learning and how design can influence it

« The Backstory

Emotion in Design for Learning

Let’s bust a myth here and now: Learning is not strictly a cognitive process. To see through this centuries-old misconception, we need to dip into the colorful wilderness of emotions and decision making.

In Looking for Spinoza, Joy, Sorrow, and the Feeling Brain, neuroscientist Antonio Damasio describes patients who, due to brain injury, have retained normal cognitive function, but have lost emotional function. Remarkably, despite being cognitively intelligent, these patients were unable to make basic life decisions like what to eat for dinner.

Studies like these show that emotions are actually critical ...

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