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All that we do, all that we are, comes from our brain. To enable us to survive, the brain has evolved to learn and to be taught Arguably the most important neuroscience discovery is that the brain is highly adaptive, a property called neuroplasticity. Our brains continuously adapt to the environments where we live, work and play.

Since genetics and experience interact to shape the brain, each person’s brain is unique. We all have a collection of different abilities, and one person may find one subject or practical skill difficult, and yet enjoy and do well in another. Research recognizes that each person has a complex profile of preferences - likes and dislikes.

Some students do well in some areas, but less well in others because these differences are grounded in individual differences in the brain. Our genetic predispositions interact with learning experiences to give rise to a wide range of individual differences. We are born with certain genetic tendencies. As we interact with the world around us, these experiences can reinforce or counteract our genetic inclinations..

Since genetics and experience interact to shape the brain, each person’s brain is unique. We have a collection of different abilities, and one person may struggle in one area, such as mathematics, and yet thrive in another, such as languages. Research does not support the simplistic notion that each person is either intelligent or not; rather, it recognizes that each person has a complex profile of strengths and limitations.

One thing, however, is certain: all brains demonstrate neuroplasticity. Our learning difficulties in a subject or task should not, therefore, be perceived as unchangeable, but rather a challenge to overcome because our brains can change and improve through learning.

There are two fundamental things that brains want: to be safe and happy. We use two parts of our survival machine to achieve these goals: our fear system and our pleasure system.

It is important to remember that the fear and pleasure machinery in our brains are at work all the time. To achieve our brain’s desire to be safe and happy, we should start by learning about ourselves and to identify exactly what we want and what we don’t want to do. An easy and effective way you can do this is to use PRISM Career Explorer to compile a comprehensive report on your work and behavioural preferences, and to identify which work environments will enhance your personal performance.

Although it is possible for students who do not have a good behavioural preference match with their major/degree to be successful in their studies, there is a clear link between behavioural preference and success in the corresponding major/degree.

According to the Journal of Vocational Behaviour (Vol 69, No1), a significant study by Professor Terence Tracey (Arizona State University) and Professor Steven Robbins (San Diago University) involving 80,574 students enrolled in 87 colleges, showed that good grades were related to having a major that reflects a student's own behavioural preference and work interests. Even more significantly, the research showed that such a match predicted overall GPA after five years better than ACT scores (similar to the SAT tests). Finally, the research showed that the results were valid irrespective of ethnic background or gender.

Other research, summarized in 2006 by John C. Smart (University of Memphis), Kenneth A. Feldman (SUNY at Stony Brook), and Corinna A. Ethington (also University of Memphis), found that in students who showed a high degree of behavioural preference match with their majors upon entering college, the personality aspects that matched the environment were reinforced by the experience of being in the major. And this may be considered a sign of success.

But Smart et al. found a different pattern of success for those students who entered a major that was not a good match with their behavioural preference. The experience of being in the major for four years caused these students to have increases in the abilities and interests that were a good match and to show stability or decline (sometimes dramatic) in the abilities and interests that were not a good match.