To make better choices, understand how your brain processes

To make better choices, understand how your brain processes

Many are made by the power of practice. We are encouraged to make healthy choices in our default and understand the way the brain sets some tasks, as we commute in the morning, in autopilot to improve our recovery.

But what about more intentional, perceived daily choices? The decisions we are contemplating – more than seconds or high consultations – confidence in the part system of the amount, which weigh the subjective evaluations we make, which tapped the scales of a choice of another. “If we know how the system systems, we can identify many possible paths to our goals,” says Emily Falk, a neuroscientiist at the University of Pennsylvania and author of What is our value.

As the book explored, many people were disappointed when they found themselves selected counters in their large photographs – things like working on the old relatives or cutting time on screen. The Falc introduces readers to brainstorm systems to calculate our priorities today and the strategies of marriage decisions of each person. In the process, he offers a compassionate framework for identifying how we make choices and why change can be challenged.


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American American Referring to the falk how to transfer the brain by choices and how to reflect on our priorities helps to align our traits with long-term purposes.

(An edited transcript in the interview follows.)

So ba Does the brain provide value?

If we have made a decision, the brain firstifies different things we can choose among the brain valuations, think of emotions, think of emotions, think of emotions, think about emotions and feelings and feelings and feelings of others.

It has joined that information and gives a subjective amount of each choice. Then we choose the one we expect to be most rewarding. Finally, after we choose, the brain tracks how things can be seen if something we think is rewarding as we are.

Ultimately, that Valuation System provides a final common pathway in arriving at our subjective evaluations across very different things-whether relationship partners, food choices or financial decisions.

As only an example of factors that influence the calculations of the value, in January my colleagues and I have published the findings that show people more Share news stories Others when they reflect on why the article relates to themselves and their social worlds. And we see, in this and in the past research, how much to share the news is related to the activity of brain systems and brain cnognition systems.

How does understanding these systems change the way people think about their choices or behavior?

We know that a significant input for the system of self-relevance, or how much psychological or self-sufficiency feels. And likely to confuse us with self and value. Neurosifiecial research shows a deep intertwining of it Self-Systems and News.

Sometimes that is good in terms of maintaining a mixed sense of self and a positive self-feeling. The problem is that we can keep ideas on what we do and who we are at the forefront if it is useful.

As another instance, people want rewards near time or easy to make fun. Understanding how the brain also emphasized works as well as which legs of psychological (close or) work in a long way.

Scientists study how the medial prefrontal cortexwhich is important in the amount of self-related systems and self-approval, handling There are many differences in psychological distances in a similar way. For example, people are more motivated to choose something when you expect the rewards to come or join something geographically entered or people feel close to social. But you can do the rewards feel closer to psychological psychological. Scientists do that by asking people to imagine if not far away situations in concrete ways. You will find out how your own self is to spend money on retirement as an incentive to save a specific child to prompt agafs to increase your giving.

In your research, you are watching another strategy, what psychologists call the values ​​of values, and find it can help people make better decisions for themselves over time. Can you explain more?

Many research shows that if we are reminded of things that are most important to us – “capital-V” values ​​like kindness or friendship – we are more open to changing our attitudes.

For example, in studies run by our team, people who do nothing can be physically active After being asked to define their values ​​by identifying the most important on a list and then imagine themselves in different situations taping the values. So if you choose friends and family, you can ask you to imagine a future time you are connected to a family member, and they help you with a challenge. If we look at the brain activity, we see that if considering what is the most important, core parts of the value and self-approval systems active.

We also know people who are less defensive and more open to change after reflecting on their most important values. So if we have people who make this kind of valuable values before We give them messages intended to coach them into more healthy choices – like reminders that make the basics of the amount of brain achievements than others do not do that. And then if we follow our participants next month – sends a lot of prompts to reflect and reminds that can be very active in the brain.

Why thinking about family and friends changed the passion for someone to exercise?

In many studies studies, the value has no obvious behavior connection. But the idea is to think about what is really important to you to help you zoom outside and think about the big picture. Confirms your values ​​- by writing about what you think most, choose the values ​​from a list or imaginative situations with respect to values ​​- can You land.

In addition, self-confidence The values, you are connected to something outside of yourself, such as friends and family or spirituality, more effective than self-relations to help changes. People connecting real self-values, and people with stronger feelings of purpose, gaining health and self-sufficiency that are self-determined as personal money, fame and power.

All of this suggests that people keep their picture ideas and purposes on top of mind – for example, by regular reminders of their advantages, rightly decisive, right?

Yes. Feeling goal means having a clear picture of what you want to do and why. It can be like a North Star that helps us think about the passage from where we are now where we want to.

But not just that some people have a purpose and others don’t. People with people’s intentions change, on a daily basis, in whatever their baseline. It can help remember because it promotes that we can do things that can change what is the purpose we feel in a day and what benefits we have as a result. For example, daily and physical health options are related to purpose. Exercise, sleep, condition, connect with other people and feelings of purpose related to each other to a welfare web. If it’s active we choose to prioritize one of them, we can get benefits in many other places for free.

Are you a specialist specialized in neuroscience, cognitive science or psychology? And do you read a new peer checked paper you want to write about the minds of things? Please send the suggestions to American AmericanThe mind of the causal Daisy Yuhas Yuhas [email protected].

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