Over 90% of US teachers teach VAK
Over 90% of teachers in the United States believe in VAK learning styles and are trained on them, despite consistent research showing no meaningful effect.
Where this was said
Probably Nothing Tier: Power Posing, Learning Styles & Affirmations (Ranks 13–11)
At 37:07 · chapter starts 34:55
This trio forms the core of the 'probably nothing' tier. Power posing — popularized by Amy Cuddy's 2013 TED Talk and picked up in pickup artist communities before that — produces at best a transient mood boost; the hormonal claims have been debunked. Learning styles (VAK) are a particularly damaging myth because they're still being actively taught to over 90% of US teachers [1] — Mark Manson "Over 90% of US teachers teach VAK: Over 90% of teachers in the United States believe in VAK learning styles and are trained on them, despit…" 37:07 , even though the effect, where it exists at all, appears to come from giving students agency and choice, not from style-matching. Affirmations get the most nuanced treatment: they function as a 'win more' strategy. For people who already have strong self-worth, a little pep talk works. For people who genuinely feel bad about themselves, standing in the bathroom telling the mirror they're beautiful and smart just highlights the gap between the affirmation and their felt reality — making things worse. The exception is marginalized groups facing genuine external discrimination, where affirmations provide meaningful correction to an unfairly negative self-image.
Affirmations backfire for low self-esteem
Affirmations are a 'win more' strategy — they slightly help people who already feel good about themselves but make people with low self-esteem feel worse.
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