The “Comfort Zone” model
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The “comfort zone”, described by Robert Yerkes (1907), is a state in which someone operates without anxiety or risk, using a set of established behaviours that allow his/her to reach a constant level of performance.
When the person leaves the comfort zone he/she gets into the learning zone, tackling new things and generally feeling a certain level of stress. From person to person, such stress can be experienced differently, generating very different emotions, such as panic or excitement.
Taking it a step further, the person enters the zone of free exploration. There is a radical change in underlying paradigms and reference points are lost: in this phase you experience feelings of bewilderment and high emotional stress.
When the person leaves the comfort zone he/she gets into the learning zone, tackling new things and generally feeling a certain level of stress. From person to person, such stress can be experienced differently, generating very different emotions, such as panic or excitement.
Taking it a step further, the person enters the zone of free exploration. There is a radical change in underlying paradigms and reference points are lost: in this phase you experience feelings of bewilderment and high emotional stress.
Let’s resume Lauren's CASE STUDY now, and reflect on how she deals with the transition from university to employment.
- Lauren has studied for years at the University, knowing where to go, who to meet, what to do: she had a very clear map of the expectations of her surrounding context. Joining the world of work is definitely a step 'outside of her comfort zone'.
- Some people may take this step with much curiosity and interest, with the desire to “start a new adventure”. Laura is not that way: she is full of doubts and fears. Remember that every learning process involves crossing a stage where we feel “consciously incompetent.”
- As new skills are acquired, this uncomfortable feeling of inadequacy fades and the new context becomes so familiar that we will eventually arrive in the ‘comfort zone’.