Learning from our mistakes is hardwired

Well, for one thing, to learn from our mistakes, we have to be able to admit to ourselves that we have made a mistake.

Michigan State University

Jason Moser, Psychology
Published: Oct. 03, 2011
Moser’s co-researchers were Hans Schroder, Carrie Heeter, Tim Moran, and Yu-Hao Lee.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — People who think they can learn from their mistakes have a different brain reaction to errors than those who don’t think they can learn from their mistakes, according to a groundbreaking study by Michigan State University researchers.

The study, which will appear in an upcoming issue of Psychological Science, is the first to show a fundamental difference between these two groups.

“This finding is exciting in that it suggests people who think they can learn from mistakes have brains that are more tuned to pick up on mistakes very quickly,” said Jason Moser, assistant professor of clinical psychology and lead researcher on the project.

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After the experiment, the researchers found out whether people believed they could learn from their mistakes. People who think they can learn from their mistakes did better after making a mistake – in other words, they successfully bounced back from their error.

Their brains also reacted differently, producing a bigger second signal, the one that says “I see that I’ve made a mistake, so I should pay more attention,” Moser said.


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