Congratulations! You Failed: Neurofeedback Training as a Tool for Effective Failure Based Learning

Abstract

Everybody experiences failure. It’s inevitable, and learning from it can be especially challenging due to cognitive and emotional barriers. This paper explores the potential of neurofeedback training (NFT) as a tool to enhance learning from failure by increasing attentional bandwidth and control. Rooted in the work of Eskreis-Winkler and Fishbach (2022), who identified several emotional and cognitive barriers to failure learning, propose a theoretical study that investigates the application of NFT in the context of failure learning. The study focuses on conducting “good” science by recruiting participants through the Psychological Science Accelerator (PSA) and employing a modified version of the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA) called the Failure Attentiveness Test (FAT) in order to assess participants’ ability to recognize and attend to failure-related stimuli. If successful, NFT could prove to be a powerful tool for overcoming cognitive barriers to failure learning, opening the door to a number of possibilities regarding the extraction of valuable information from those failure-based experiences. The proposed study is not without its limitations and further research is undoubtedly necessary to address them and fully understand the scope of the issue. By attempting to bridge the gap between psychological theory and technological innovation, this paper seeks to contribute to the development of an effective intervention capable of facilitating learning from failure, ultimately promoting personal growth and continuous improvement.