ClickerExpo, choice, and chocolates
In a famous experiment involving boxes of chocolates, research subjects were found to be much happier when they could choose from a box with 30 chocolates versus a box with just six. But for some of the subjects who had 30 choices, the subsequent experience of choosing was more stressful. And, having made their choices, some subjects were unhappier with their decisions than were those in the six-chocolate box group!
At ClickerExpo 2017, we have more than 80 pieces of chocolate (courses) in our box (program). When we design ClickerExpo, we really think about making both the abundance of choice valuable and the process of choosing satisfying for you. Here are five practical observations about how everyone can enjoy choosing from among the assortment of “treats” we have at ClickerExpo.
Be a Satisfier, not an Optimizer
You can’t possibly see every speaker or attend every Session or Learning Lab you think will be great, but you will see great ones all the time. If you are happy with that, you’ll be what psychologists term a Satisfier; you’ll appreciate your choices. Satisfiers tend to feel really good about difficult choices. Optimizers, on the other hand, worry that a better shoe match might have been found if only they had gone to one more store (even though the shoes look incredible). Put yourself in the Satisfier zone!
You do know what you are going to get
In the movie Forrest Gump, Tom Hanks made famous a quip about how life is like a box of chocolates because “you never know what you are going to get.” At ClickerExpo, you know exactly what you are going to get because all of the courses and their descriptions are thought-out carefully, well-crafted, and visible. Just check out the conference schedule (Portland Schedule, Stamford Schedule) to see every course described, rated by experience level, and labeled with a topic area such as Teaching, Science and Behavior, or Competition. Don’t stress, Forrest, just read a little!
Put it back, get another
Suppose that once you taste it you don’t like the chocolate (course) you chose? Put it back and get another. You can float in and out of Sessions at ClickerExpo. Knowing you can switch, easily and without hassle, simplifies making choices. (And no chocolate mess on your hands.)
Simple goals to simplify decisions
Even having basic goals helps simplify decisions because those goals eliminate what’s extraneous, and allow you to focus on what helps meet the goals. Interested in seeing as much of Ken Ramirez as possible? Simple—you can identify his courses easily and attend them. Want to get a solid grounding in clicker training? Simple—look for our Foundation level courses.Trust your decisions to us!
If making choices stresses you out, seek help from us. Every year we coach and advise people about what Sessions and Labs they should take. We’ll be glad to help you, too. E-mail events@clickerexpo.com.
Registration opens in 4 days. Sweet!
Aaron Clayton is President of Karen Pryor Clicker Training and TAGteach International, and a member of the ClickerExpo Faculty.
