Weekend Wrap-up #08 - It just couldn't be anything else

So this weekend wrap just had to be about our very own Golden Boy. To give India its very first gold in athletics and more so in the javelin throw was something that literally got all of us to our feet. Yes I am referring to that amazing experience of standing up to your National Anthem as the world listened on.

Champions like this are an exception to rules and my post today looks at how for the inspiring few biases and effects may work quite in a different way as they do for the rest of us mere mortals.

Priming

Priming occurs when an individual’s exposure to a certain stimulus influences his or her response to a subsequent stimulus. 

Now Neeraj Chopra's parents enrolled him in running at the stadium as he was putting on weight as a kid. The humble boy attributes his love for sports and javelin throw in particular to this environment. He says it was impossible not to take on some sport when you were exposed to this stimulus at the stadium.

Anchoring

Anchoring refers to how an individual's decisions are influenced by a particular reference point or anchor. Now for the most of us when we become anchored to a specific figure we end up filtering all new information through the framework we initially drew up in our head, distorting our perception. But for champions I can only gather that the anchor plays quite the different role.

Now while one could say that a 90m throw could be the anchor, I feel in the case of Neeraj - the 100 plus throw by his coach Uwe Hohn could have well been his anchor. The javelin can no longer be thrown that far as the centre of gravity has been changed since. But that's one hell of an anchor to have and in the words of the very man, Hohn, there is no limit to what Neeraj can throw.

Defaults

Defaults provide a mental shortcut and signal what we're supposed to do in a given situation. 

Now in this interview you will see that when Neeraj is questioned on his diet and any restrictions there in he refers to the diet at the National Camp and how it leaves no room to stray because the default options are the healthy options. 

Goal Gradation Effect

The Goal Gradient Effect states that as people get closer to a reward, they speed up their behaviour to get to their goal faster. Now while in his case there may not be a speeding up of behaviour, but Neeraj himself has said his best performances are when he is competing in a tournament.

Pygmalion Effect

The Pygmalion Effect is a psychological phenomenon wherein high expectations lead to improved performance in a given area. Neeraj has time and again called out the efforts of Jaiveer Singh in pulling him out and pushing him to deliver at the level he is at today. The clip below will give you a sense of the role he has played in India winning its first athletics gold.

There are other concepts in Behavioural Science like the Achievement Motivation but I thought the above five were unique to Neeraj Chopra in their own way and hence thought they were more deserving of a mention.

Thank you again Neeraj Chopra... 

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I am sharing my posting schedule herewith... do look out for topics that might interest you:

Tuesday: Regular posts under Intriguing Insights and Inexplicable Influences

Thursday: To BE or not to BE - Behavioural Economic (BE) terms and their popular explanations or definitions.

Sunday: Weekend Wrap-up where I select an event or incident from the week that was and analyse some aspect of it.

Last Saturday of every month: My monthly post in the Intellectual Imprints section