Forget About Your “Learning Style”

If you’ve ever taken a test that tells you you’re a “visual” learner, does that mean you’ll have trouble taking in information in your lecture, especially compared to your classmates who have been told they are “auditory” learners? Happily, the answer is no. There is no evidence that people learn better when the method matches their preferences, and no evidence that using methods that don’t match their preferences are ineffective. Visualizing material helps everybody, and so does plain old active listening. In fact, learning-style tests do not seem to do much of anything except make the companies that own them a lot of money. The nine secrets to learning work equally well for all kinds of students. This means you.

In the psychology major, you’ll satisfy your curiosity about human nature, gain insights into political and social issues and learn techniques you can use to gain control over your emotions, improve your memory, and reduce unwanted habits. We hope you will enjoy and remember what you read. But ultimately, a 10th secret of learning is this: No matter how good they are, no course and no textbook can do your work for you.