Here’s your ONE drop:
Story time.
Yes, it’s a lot of text (even for me). Read every word. Don’t think. Just go.
The procedure is actually quite simple. First you arrange things into different groups. Of course, one pile may be sufficient depending on how much there is to do. If you have to go somewhere else due to lack of facilities, that is the next step. Otherwise, you’re pretty well set. It is important not to overdo things. That is, it is better to do too few things at once than too many. In the short run this may not seem important but complications can easily arise. A mistake can be expensive as well. At first the whole procedure will seem complicated. Soon, however, it will become just another facet of life. It is difficult to foresee any end to the necessity for this task in the immediate future, but then, one never can tell.
After the procedure is completed, one arranges the materials into different groups again. Then they can be put into their appropriate places. Eventually they will be used once more and the whole cycle will then have to be repeated. However, that is part of life.
How much stuck with you? One step? Maybe three?
Now here’s the title: Doing the Laundry.
Suddenly it clicks, right? Same words. Different brain.
This was a 1972 experiment by Bransford and Johnson. People who read the passage cold remembered almost nothing. Add the title, and a relevant schema (mental framework) activates. Suddenly all the vague bits snap into place.
“Piles.” “Facilities.” “Don’t overdo it.” Now it’s a washing machine.
Context changes everything.
It’s how we understand. It’s how we remember. It’s how we make sense of the world.
Still true in life. Still true in marketing. Especially now.
Worth thinking about.
// Ann