The ticking clock and FOMO

When language training I play a little game with my students. It is a very simple idea that helps in numerous areas to build recall and pull little used vocabulary from the depths of memory. It also trains memory under mild stress which is something that many of them experience when using their English with clients. I like to run my own observational behavioural experiments on my students and therefore play around with variables.

Think of a word

The game is to write down as many words as possible within a designated time that are based upon a starting or ending stem. For example, I will write CON- on the board and they will run through, CONTAIN, CONVICT, CONCERN, CONCRETE. For an ending I may write -BLE and they will have VARIABLE, CAPABLE, RESPONSIBLE. After, they may need to explain their words or write sentences or some other boring language task.

The variables I play with is the time given, one minute, two minutes etc, the difficulty of the core starting point and the prize for getting the most qualifying words.

It is interesting for example that when there is a insignificant prize like a piece of chocolate, the stress responses change considerably over if there is no reward. The larger the perceived value of the reward also changes responses even though the rewards themselves aren't overly valuable. A piece of candy is less of a reward than a mars bar and the change provokes a higher level of competition to win the prize.

The difficulty of the starting point will make some worry at the beginning before even really attempting to start thinking about it. The barrier to entry seems higher to some than others.

The ticking clock

But, the one that is the simplest to manipulate is time. One minute seems like a significant amount of time to come up with words but can be lengthened or shortened to change the impression of it. I can give frequent updates, and say the time that has passed or the time that is remaining. The time remaining seems to evoke a greater stress response than the time passed in most and the more frequent the update, the higher the stress and annoyance observed.

The best way to really apply pressure is to announce the final 15 seconds and then make ticking noises to pass the seconds by. The faster the ticking, the higher the panic. And, even though this is an English class, in a safe environment with very little consequences, people's minds apply non-existent pressure. Well, I nudge them along a little.

The Ticking Clock creates a few different reactions within the student's minds. For some, their minds go blank when the pressure is applied, for others they get off to a good start and as the pressure mounts, they find the same words they have coming to mind again, and for nearly all, there is a whole range of words that arise that are not even closely related to the stem given. Panic.

There are also several psychological positions that run as underlying manipulators. One is the desire to win, the fear of losing or the worry that one's strengths are not so strong after all, among others. The biggest one however is FOMO.

Quick, Panic

No one wants to miss out on the opportunity to realise their goals and the ticking clock is a reminder that achieving goals are slipping away with each beat. This fear of missing out is an emotional response that can be manufactured by design and often is.

All of the experienced and successful traders have likely come across the ticking clock signs and have had to learn ways to combat their emotions. I remember a post by @acidyo written some months ago when in a weekend, the coins across the board dropped around 40 percent and everyone's trading cards were likely looking a lot like the red wedding, bloody. His advice was to go for a walk and not be concerned, after all, what more is there to be done?

Of course, with capital reserves, one can buy like hell but if like me who had all in coins, there really was nothing to be done. Many however sold and sold and sold in a panic. I did not at that time, I held (and hoped). I haven't always been able to control the FOMO though.

This ticking clock idea however is applied to many aspects of our life and life itself. We are constantly being told how short life is and what many take this to mean is to spend it all now. This is essentially selling coins thinking there is no future at all rather than paying attention to the ebb and flow and slowly increasing holdings consistently.

This instant gratification concept is likely costing a great deal of future wealth for people and making astronomical gains for those with patience, delayed gratification. Observing my students and understanding their varied language skill sets, it is not usually the most knowledgeable who gets the candy bar, it is the one that keeps cool, calm and collected, ignores the ticking clock and does the best they can.

Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]