What is the label effect?
The label effect means that when a person is given a certain word name, he will form an impression of himself and adjust his behavior based on this impression to make it consistent with the given name. This phenomenon is due to the psychological and behavioral changes that occur after being given a name, so it is called the labeling effect.
Psychological research on labeling effect
American psychologist Becker once proposed: ‘Once people are given a certain name, they will become the person defined by the name.’ He used an experiment during World War II as an example to illustrate the role of the labeling effect. In the experiment, a group of recruits who performed poorly and lacked discipline and obedience were asked to write a letter to their families every month describing how they observed discipline, obeyed orders, fought bravely, and received rewards on the front line. It was found that the behavior of these recruits improved significantly after six months, and they really began to do what the letter said. This phenomenon is the embodiment of the labeling effect.
Psychology believes that the reason for the labeling effect is that labels have a qualitatively oriented effect. Whether it is good or bad, it will have a strong impact on a person’s personality awareness and self-identity. The result of assigning a certain label to a person is often to make him develop in the direction suggested by the label.
Positive and Negative Effects of Hashtag Effect
Psychologist Kraut once conducted an experiment on the labeling effect. He invited a group of participants to donate to charity and, depending on whether they donated, praised them as ‘charitable people’ or criticized them as ‘uncharitable people.’ Other participants were not given any evaluation. After a period of time, when these people were asked to donate again, it was found that those who donated for the first time and were praised as ‘charitable people’ donated more than those who were not evaluated; and those who donated for the first time donated more. People who did not donate and were criticized for being ‘uncharitable’ donated less than those who were not judged.
This experiment shows that when a person is given a certain name, he will form an impression of himself and adjust his behavior according to this impression to make it consistent with the given name. This phenomenon is the embodiment of the labeling effect. It can be seen that the labeling effect has both positive and negative effects. The positive impact can stimulate a person’s potential and enthusiasm, and promote their development in a direction that is beneficial to themselves and society; the negative impact can undermine a person’s self-confidence and initiative, causing them to develop in a direction that is detrimental to themselves and society. .
How to deal with the label effect
The labeling effect is a ubiquitous psychological phenomenon. We will inevitably encounter various labels in our lives, whether it comes from the evaluation of others or from our own judgment. So, how do we deal with the labeling effect? Here are some suggestions:
- We must have the ability to identify and choose labels from others. If it is a positive label, we can accept and thank others for their affirmation, and at the same time, we must remain humble and work hard, and do not relax ourselves because of pride; if it is a negative label, we can reflect on and improve our shortcomings At the same time, you must maintain confidence and persistence, and don’t give up on yourself because you are discouraged. Of course, sometimes the labels given to us by others may be unobjective and unfair. At this time, we must learn to reject and resist, and not let other people’s prejudices affect our self-perception and behavior.
- We must have the ability to adjust and optimize our own tags. If it is a positive label, we can use it to motivate ourselves and enhance our confidence and motivation; if it is a negative label, we can use it to alert ourselves and increase our vigilance and challenge. In any case, we must avoid labeling ourselves with too absolute, fixed, and single labels, and instead label ourselves with some relative, flexible, and diverse labels so that we can adjust our mentality and goals according to different situations and goals. Strategy.
How to use label effects to improve learning results
In learning, we often encounter failures and setbacks, and these experiences will have varying degrees of impact on our self-confidence. After some students encounter several failures, they will label themselves negatively and think that they are just not good enough. If they encounter difficulties again in the future, they will think that failure is inevitable; even if they encounter success occasionally, it will be difficult for them to take this opportunity to improve their self-confidence.
So, how can we use the label effect to improve learning results? An effective method is to implement positive autosuggestion training. The so-called autosuggestion training is to say some positive, encouraging and affirmative words to yourself to affect your mental state and behavioral performance. To implement positive self-suggestion training, in addition to formulating practical, decomposable, and operable learning goals and plans, you must also pay attention to the following links:
Set hints by stage
Before starting self-suggestion training, you must set up appropriate suggestion language according to your own situation. These suggestive languages are words to cheer yourself up, such as ‘I can do it!’, ‘I can do better!’, etc. But you should make it based on your specific situation.
For example, if there are several subjects that are relatively weak, they should be arranged in order of easier ones first and then more difficult ones. Compared with Chinese and mathematics, if mathematics is more difficult to conquer, you can start with Chinese and hint to yourself, ‘I will definitely improve my composition level’, etc.; if you have just started to practice self-suggestion training, you can set your goals lower, such as ‘I’m very happy, I can remember 8 English words today’. As you gradually improve in the future, your self-confidence will also increase.
After a period of suggestion training, when you find that your self-confidence has improved and you are fulfilled and happy every day, you should consider resetting your self-suggestion language. The hints at this stage do not need to be so specific, but they must make higher demands based on your current situation. After setting up the hints, you must memorize them skillfully and keep them in mind.
Implement positive self-suggestion
After the cues are set, preparations must be made for implementation. When you get up in the morning, stand in front of the mirror full of energy, look at yourself in the mirror, and feel your own state. If you feel that you are not very awake, you can first hint to yourself, ‘I feel very energetic, full, and in good condition!’ Then, look at yourself in the mirror for a while, and imagine that the uplifting feeling radiates from the inside out, and you feel I felt the breath spreading out.
Next, along with some body language (you can clench your fists and wave twice to feel your strength), speak out loud the words of encouragement you have thought of in advance, and your voice will get higher every time. Every time you say it, you will feel more confident and full of inner confidence and strength. After saying this several times, you will feel very happy, relaxed and energetic. You can say it 3-5 times in a row every day.
When you first start training, you need your will to take control. Once you develop a behavioral habit, you will naturally do it every morning when you wake up. Your daily confidence will naturally remain sufficient, and gradually you will become a confident and upward person.
Integrate hints into learning life
Self-suggestion in front of the mirror in the morning is just the beginning. If you do not combine positive self-suggestion with daily study and life, it may be just the moon in the mirror and the flowers in the water. Therefore, it is very important to learn to amplify your feelings about success and let positive self-suggestions be implemented.
Some students have improper self-evaluation methods and are accustomed to relying on the next test to prove the effect of their hard work during this period. If you do well in the exam, you will think that you have worked hard during this period and succeeded; if you do not do well in the exam, you will completely negate your recent efforts.
The above approach is actually not advisable. Learning is a process, and any result is just a point in the process. Dismissing the majority because of one point is a narrow way of evaluating. If we can consciously accumulate the feeling of success and self-confidence from our daily study, we will keep ourselves in a eager and fulfilling mood, and will not feel that learning is so boring and unbearable.
Therefore, we must learn to seize every small progress, every small achievement, and every small breakthrough in learning, and give ourselves some positive feedback and rewards. For example, when you complete an assignment, you can hint to yourself, ‘I did a good job, I am very capable.’ When you answer a question in class, you can hint to yourself, ‘I am smart, I am brave.’ ‘; When you get a good score in the exam, you can hint to yourself, ‘I am excellent, I am successful.’ Such words can not only enhance your self-confidence, but also stimulate your interest and motivation in learning.
Conclusion
The labeling effect is a powerful psychological phenomenon that can influence our self-identity and behavior. We must learn to deal with the labeling effect correctly and use it to improve our learning results. By implementing positive self-suggestion training, we can label ourselves some labels that are conducive to our growth and development, thereby making us more confident and progressive.
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