Research on the Affective System in the Brain

Although teachers have long known the importance of motivation and enthusiasm, affective aspects of the brain and learning have only recently become the subject of intensive research (Damasio, 1994; D'Arcangelo, 1998; Jensen, 1998; Ledoux, 1996). Increasingly, evidence suggests that the affective system plays a critical role in students' ability to learn (Howard, 1994; Meyer & Rose, 1998; Sylvester, 1998; Wolfe & Brandt, 1998). Both the recognition and the strategic systems' functioning is intimately tied to the attitudes and emotions generated by the affective system (Wolfe & Brandt, 1998). Affective factors underlie students' ability to set priorities, to focus attention, to select among competing stimuli and competing possibilities for action, and, ultimately, to persist, practice, and master material and skills.

The affective system exerts physiological influences on cognitive functions. For instance, sub-systems of the affective system turn information about our blood sugar levels into feelings about food. When blood sugar is low, our desire for food increases. We are motivated to eat, and the craving for food may make it difficult to concentrate on anything else. The affective system determines whether we seek food, rest, safety, and other fundamental necessities. It also influences our interest in novelty, challenge, particular subjects , and different kinds of learning contexts (Ellis, 1998; Howard, 1994; Morrison & Cosden, 1997). We are drawn to novelty when we feel understimulated; when we are overwhelmed with stimulation, we avoid novelty (Meyer & Rose, 1998).

The affective system regulates immediate perceptions and actions, and also builds habitual responses to tasks and circumstances. These "habits of mind" (the routines of the affective system) lead us to associate feelings with certain kinds of experiences, even though a current experience may not legitimately evoke such feelings. The power of these associations was shown clearly in an experiment with an amnesiac patient, who learned and remembered feelings about a person even with no conscious recognition of the person's face or name (LeDoux, 1996). We all have emotional memories associated with events no longer conscious. We seek experiences associated with positive feelings and avoid those associated with pain or humiliation. These observations are consistent with case studies and research reports delineating complex emotional concomitants of learning disability, where failure and frustration may become associated with learning experiences (Athey, 1976; Butkowsky & Willows, 1980; Heyman, 1990; Huntington & Bender, 1993; Meyer, 1983b; Pullis, 1988; Raviv & Stone, 1991; Rourke & Fisk, 1981).

One important facet of student engagement is an optimal level of challenge, one that draws attention and interest, and is not beyond reach. Decades ago, Vygotsky (1962) introduced the concept of the "zone of proximal development" (ZPD) or the "distance between the child's actual development level…and the child's level of potential development," (Englert, Rozendal, & Mariage, 1994, p. 187) achievable with support from a teacher or peer. When challenge is at precisely the right level for a student, the task is just within reach with support. The appropriate level of challenge can be deeply engaging for learners, a state Csikszentmihályi (1997) calls "flow."

"Flow tends to occur when a person's skills are fully involved in overcoming a challenge that is just about manageable…When goals are clear, feedback relevant, and challenges and skills are in balance, attention becomes ordered and fully invested. Because of the total demand on psychic energy, a person in flow is completely focused." (pp. 30-31)

Neuropharmacological evidence supports the concept of an optimal level of challenge. Studies in which subjects were over-challenged showed over-production of neurotransmitters, impeding learning by increasing stress (Koob, Cole, Swerdlow, & leMoal, 1990; Ledoux, 1996). Studies in which subjects were under-challenged showed under-production of neurotransmitters, engendering apathy (Schultz, Dayan, & Montague, 1997; Wolfe & Brandt, 1998).

As we learn more about the workings of the affective system in the brain, we can approach teaching and technology with a more sophisticated sense of what each student needs.