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Set In Our Ways: Why Fundamental Change Is Hard to Achieve

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The 6th installment in my Psychology 101 Critical Thinking Exercises

Change and GandhiIndian philosopher and political and ideological leader Mohatma Gandhi advises us to “Be the change you want to see in the world.” While this sounds great in theory, according to science, fundamental change is quite so easy for most people.

Can Your Personality Change? And Why Is Change So Hard to Achieve?

In the Scientific American article “Set In Our Ways,” author Nikolas Westerhoff, a psychologist and science journalist in Berlin, discusses the Big Five personality traits, as well as people’s ability to change throughout the course of their life. Based upon several studies cited in Westerhoff’s article, in general, people’s personalities are relatively stable, and real change is difficult to accomplish.

Also according to Westerhoff, the stability of our personality varies during different life stages. For example, changes in Big Five personality traits are most likely to occur during adolescence and young adulthood. This increase in “openness” continues during the 20s, and gradually begins to decline. Most people do not experience an increase in openness again until their 60s. This phenomenon is likely linked to the demands and responsibilities associated with adult life. Although people may dream of wild adventures at any age, as they begin families and careers, they actually become less open to new experiences that could potentially cause chaos and upset in their daily routines. This holds true even across cultural boundaries. It’s only after people have fulfilled life’s obligations, like work and family responsibilities, that they gradually become more open again.

With this in mind, researchers suspect fundamental change is much more difficult to achieve than most people realize. For example, many middle-age people would like to lose a few extra pounds. However, few will make and maintain the lifestyle changes necessary to achieve this goal. According to science, that’s not only because they are less open to change, but also because it is natural to gain weight as you age. Furthermore, they may believe that losing the extra weight will get them a promotion or find a new partner. In fact, these are unrealistic expectations about what can be accomplished, and what the final outcome may be.

Are You a Victim of False Hope Syndrome?

This phenomenon of unrealistic expectation around what we think we can change is called “False Hope Syndrome,” and was first named by psychologists Janet Polivy and C. Peter Herman of University of Toronto Mississauga. False Hope Syndrome can cause people to overhaul their entire lives too quickly, but Westerhoff and researchers caution people to be more realistic. Understand that change is often difficult to achieve, set more reasonable goals and chip away at them a little at a time. Make new changes each day. And since you may very well be in a declining period of openness, get started now.

Even as someone who is typically open to new experiences, I agree with Westerhoff’s summary of how people become set in their ways. In my mid-20s, I went on a holiday vacation, only to learn that my company had closed its doors, and I had no job. Rather than fret, I flew home, packed the belongings in my car and moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Today, I would never uproot myself so quickly, because I have too many commitments.

I also agree with Westerhoff’s statements in regards to people’s relative levels of openness. Although I am less open than I was during my 20s, I am still more open than many of my friends – the same ones that were less open than me during young adulthood. In fact, I am sure not many of them would be willing to venture into a college classroom for the first time in 16 years, with the hope of obtaining a new college degree and career.

Be the Change You Want to See in the World

Overall, while Gandhi’s theory is beautiful, it’s just that: a theory. In reality, fundamental change is difficult to achieve. I wonder if Gandhi inherently understood this and was attempting to challenge and inspire us, or if he just wasn’t aware how difficult change really is for people?

Personally, I’d like to believe this was his attempt to inspire us to always change for the better.

Psych 101: The Importance of Sleep

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William ShakespeareFor as long as humans have existed, the mysteries of sleep have fascinated mankind. For centuries, philosophers, scientists and others have developed theories as to what happens during this state of unconsciousness. Even William Shakespeare mused about sleep in The Tragedy of Macbeth when he wrote, “Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleave of care/The death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath/Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course/Chief nourisher in life’s feast.” According to the most recent sleep research, Shakespeare was right; sleep is nourishing, not only physically, but also mentally.

In the Scientific American article “Quiet! Sleep Brain at Work,” authors Robert Stickgold, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Jeffrey M. Ellenbogen, Division of Sleep Medicine, Neurology Department, Massachusetts General Hospital, discuss what really happens when we sleep, as well as the benefits of a full night’s sleep.

Today, researchers agree that while we sleep, our brain is busy processing the day’s activities. It sifts through all of the bits and bytes of information we accumulate while awake, determines what is and isn’t important, organizes everything, and files things away as memories for future use. However, this perspective doesn’t fully explain how a complete night’s sleep contributes to and nourishes learning, memory and creativity.

Sleep Nourishes Learning, Memory & Creativity

According to Stickgold and Ellenbogen, sleep helps us by simultaneously strengthening and stabilizing important memories while dissolving unimportant ones. In addition, sleep helps us uncover hidden relationships, so that we are better able to form conceptual relationships between the things we have learned – helping us to find meaning in the information we’ve accumulated, and creatively solve the problems we were working on while we were awake.

For example, one recent study performed by the pair of researchers demonstrated that people who experienced a complete night’s sleep were better able to recall word pairings than those who stayed awake, even when interference (a second group of word pairings) was introduced. In another example, a Harvard Medical School experiment indicated that people who had a good night’s sleep showed improvement on difficult tasks, such as typing complicated sequences on a keyboard. This leads researchers to suspect that in addition to processing information, our brains actually rehearse difficult tasks while we sleep, improving efficiency while we are awake. And in yet another study performed by Ullrich Wagner at the University of Lubeck in Germany, researchers presented people with a series of complex math problems, which incorporated an easy solution. After a good night’s sleep, most people caught onto the “trick,” proving that sleep often gives us the insight we need to tackle difficult problems. So, the next time you have a difficult problem or task, follow the age-old “sleep on it” wisdom and, chances are, you’ll wake with just the insight you need to rise to the challenge.

Get At Least 6 Hours of Sleep Each Night

The key to the maximizing the benefits of sleep is actually getting enough of it –something that most Americans don’t do. The daily demands of balancing priorities like school, jobs, work and other responsibilities cause most of us to get less than the ideal amount (more than six hours). Another key is getting the right kind of sleep. While any type of sleep is beneficial, we realize the most benefits by getting about 90 minutes of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep each night.

Shakespeare had it right, sleep really is nourishing – to the mind, body and soul!

Psychology 101: How To Raise a Genius

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Smart Children
In the Scientific American article “The Secret to Raising Smart Kids,” author Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., a psychology professor at Stanford University and leading researcher in motivation, discusses the two different “mind-sets” people typically develop during childhood, as well as how these mind-sets impact short and long-term success. In addition, Dweck provides insight into how to prime children for success by providing techniques parents can use to encourage the growth mind-set, which is the key to high achievement in school, work and life.

According to Dweck, if you want to raise the next Einstein, Michelangelo, Tesla, Da Vinci, Buffet or Darwin, you need to…

Encourage a Growth Mind-Set

The growth mind-set is the belief that success (good grades, work promotions, or even fulfilling interpersonal relationships) is the direct result of effort, rather than inborn intelligence, ability or talent. In the growth mind-set, intelligence is perceived as malleable, opportunities are viewed as challenges, and failures are seen as opportunities to improve.

Because this optimistic mind-set offers hope in the form of equal opportunity for people to achieve goals, it provides motivation. The result of this perseverance to achieve a goal, even when set-backs are encountered, tasks become increasingly difficult or success is not guaranteed, are situations in which people ultimately learn, stretch and grow their skills, knowledge and relationships. People with a growth mid-set are typically high achievers.

Conversely, believing that intelligence, talent and ability is innate (fixed) can lead to de-motivation. This is because failures are interpreted as a lack of intelligence. This fear of failure (appearing dumb) causes people with this type of mind-set to avoid challenges that create growth. Instead, they tend to focus on less difficult opportunities that guarantee success. In addition, people with this mind-set can develop “learned helplessness” after repeated failures. Ultimately, this leads an unwillingness to remedy shortcomings, and suppresses the growth people need to become high achievers.

Examples of the Growth Mind-Set

Perhaps one of the best illustrations of a growth mind-set is the experiment Dweck performed on math students. One group of students was provided with information on the brain, which described it as a muscle that can be grown. The other group received no information. The group that received the information earned significantly better grades than the control group because they believed intelligence could be developed, if they put in the time and effort to cultivate and nurture it. The determining factor was a change in the student’s attitudes toward how failure is perceived, and goals are achieved.

Techniques for Encouraging a Growth Mind-Set

To help children develop a growth mind-set, Dweck encourages parents and teachers to choose their words carefully. Because success is ultimately determined by level of effort, praise should focus on the actions they took to achieve a goal. For example, when praising your child for earning a good grade, say, “Wow, all of that studying really paid off!” instead of “Wow, you must be really smart!” As another example, when a child does poorly, it can help to say, “Maybe you didn’t study or practice enough,” instead of implying they failed. This helps children understand that it is the amount of effort, which is something they can control, that resulted in their success or failure.

In other word… To raise a smart child, DON’T tell them they are smart!

Growth Mind-Sets at Work in the Real World

Perhaps one of the most interesting personal stories of a growth mind-set is one of my close Latino friends. Despite the challenges of being a minority, some struggles early in his academic career, and even a couple of failed businesses, my friend persevered through all of the difficulties. The result was a successful company focused on the Hispanic community, which was eventually purchased by one of the major U.S. news outlets. Last week, he was honored in Los Angeles by the Hispanic Public Relations Association for his achievements in uniting the Latino PR community. As a close friend, I have witnessed first-hand not only how dedicated he is, but also how much effort, sacrifice, time and love he puts into his “work.” I also have seen how he interprets “un fracaso,” which is really just a minor mistake that can and will be improved upon next time.

Papiblogger LogoToday, my friend has built a successful business as one of the only Latino daddy bloggers. As true masters of the growth-mind-set, my friend and his wife are an inspiration to all who want to succeed, but most of all, to their children. Together, the family shares their creative parenting tips and tricks online at papiblogger.com.

Remember, Your Mind-Set Is Important, Too!

Undoubtedly, we have a drastic influence on the mind-sets of our children. This is why it is so important to ensure as parents, we also have a growth mind-set and are leading by example, just like my friends. It will be interesting to watch the papiblogger children mature, to see how they are able to capitalize, and perhaps even improve upon the growth-oriented lessons provided by their parents.

Austim & the Brain: Mirror Neurons

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Psych 101 Critical Thinking Exercise #3

Philosophers have said that in order to truly understand something, you must experience it. Neurophysiologists at the University of Parma, Italy, were researching the role of simple goal-directed neurons in hand and mouth actions when they made a serendipitous scientific discovery to support this philosophical statement: the same brain neurons fired when a monkey not only performed an action, but also when it observed the same action performed by one of the researchers. Giacomo Rizzolatti, Leonardo Fogassi and Vittorio Gallese describe their experiments, findings, and the implications in the Scientific American article “Mirrors in the Mind.”

The Accidental Discovery of Mirror Neurons

The discovery occurred when the group was performing experiments to study the firing patterns of individual neurons in area F5 of the motor cortex in the brains of macaques. To determine if their accidental finding was accurate, the researcher had to conduct additional experiments. Due to the complexity of the network of mirror neurons in the brain, which spreads through the pre-motor and parietal cortices, the researchers were challenged with developing an experiment that would clarify whether mirror neurons play a role in understanding, and not just visually registering, an action without causing broad cognitive issues. In the end, they conducted two experiments. The first experiment determined if the macaques could recognize actions based on sounds. The second tested if the animals could identify an action when it occurred behind a screen.

Why We Understand… What We Understand

Based upon the results of these studies, which indicated that actions performed by one person can stimulate the same motor pathways in another person, the group proposed that there is a neural basis for our ability to understand, and subsequently, predict actions and emotions based upon visual and aural cues. The researchers also discovered that survival or biological based actions (drinking) were given preference over cultural ones (cleaning). In addition, the group discovered a series of motor actions, serving as proof of a neural chain which may develop as the brain forms “templates” for specific actions. The scientific findings of these researchers ultimately changed “our understanding of what we understand.”

Mirror Neurons Linked to Autism… Or Not?

Because autism is associated with a lack of social and communication skills, including an inability to mimic emotions, scientists began studying the brain’s network of mirror neurons in patients affected with the condition. One study, conducted in 2005 at the University of California, San Diego, determined that mirror neurons do not fire when an action is observed by an autistic patient. The researchers theorized that a dysfunction in the motor neurons caused autism. However, a more recent study, supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, Cure Autism Now, and the Pennsylvania Department of Health, was published in the May 2010 issue of Neuron. In the article, scientists challenged the original theory by arguing that the research was flawed because the experiments did not account for movement-selection actions. Based upon the results of fMRI scan, the researchers concluded that autistic subjects responded normally when the experiment was adjusted to include movement-selective actions. Even more interesting, another University of California, San Diego, study in 2007 by Jaime Pineda, PhD, suggested that the mirror networks in autistic children function differently based upon their relationship with the person performing the observed action.

As humans, our ability to infer intentions is fundamental to our survival. It helps us with everything from avoiding potentially dangerous situations to developing successful interpersonal relationships. Although the research is conflicting at this time, two things are clear… First, mirror neurons play an important role in our ability to understand and interpret actions and emotions, without the need for explicit reasoning. Second, we simply don’t know enough about how mirror neurons function in order to understand how they may or may not be operating differently in a person with autism.

The brain is one of the most complex systems in nature. Therefore, the cause of any condition that affects it (good or bad) is as equally difficult to understand. Although a dysfunction in mirror neurons may not be the exact cause of autism, due to the underlying function of these cells, it is likely that additional research, including how these neurons interact and interrelate with other brain functions, will confirm they are still highly related to autism.

Whether the cause of autism stems from exposure to a foreign chemical or element, as suggested by anti-vaccine supporters, or the development of underlying biological dysfunction in another region of the brain further down the neuron chain that “misinterprets” signals generated by the mirror neurons, continued research into the function of mirror neurons will not contribute not only to a better general understanding of the brain, but also potentially a cure for autism and other conditions that manifest in the form of cognitive problems related to interpreting and reacting to behavior and emotions.

Psychology 101: Exploring Phantom Limb Pain

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Penfield MapIntroduced by American physician Silas Weir Mitchell in 1872, the term “phantom limb” is used to describe the sensation that an amputated limb is still attached to the body. Nearly all amputees report having a phantom limb experience, and for the majority, it is excruciatingly painful. In fact, according to neurologist Vilayanur S. Ramachandran at the Center for the Brain and Cognition at the University of California, San Diego, nearly 70 percent of amputees continue to suffer from intermittent pain in a limb decades after it has been removed. Phantom limb pain can have a debilitating and devastating effect on a patient’s life. Unfortunately, most current treatments are ineffective because the biological basis for the pain is not completely understood.

Exploring the Biological Cause of Phantom Limb Pain

In the Scientific American article “Living with Ghostly Limbs,” Miguel Nicolelis, M.D., Ph.D., a Brazilian professor of neurology and biology at Duke University Medical Center explores the biological cause of and innovative treatments for phantom limb pain. According to Nicolelis, most scientists believe that phantom limb perceptions stem from residual activity in the regions of the neuromatrix formerly assigned to the missing limb. In addition, he suggests that future phantom limb treatments may include brain remapping techniques.

Nicolelis cites the results of several experiments performed on the peripheral nervous system to support the theory that a complex neuromatrix develops and controls our body image, including:

  • Amputees with a severed peripheral nervous system continued to suffer from phantom limb pain, which suggests the source is more likely the brain;
  • When different, but specific, areas of the brain are damaged, a drastic change in body image and perception occurs, which indicates that they are result of a complex, interactive network in the brain, rather than just the function of one localized region;
  • When a person experiences a drastic change in body structure, corresponding changes can be observed in the brain, which supports the theories of neural plasticity and brain remapping.

Understanding the Body Image Neuromatrix

According to Ronald Melzack, Ph.D., of McGill University the body image neuromatrix is composed of four major parts: the somatosensory cortex, regions of the parietal lobe and two neural pathways. Additional research by Ramachandran indicates the likelihood of phantom limb pain is significantly reduced in young children, suggesting that the body image neuromatrix is formed during the first our first eight years of development.

In the past, scientists believed that once the neuromatrix was fully developed, it could not be reconfigured. As a result, treatments ranging from prescription drugs and acupuncture to electric spinal cord stimulation (SCS) were used to treat phantom limb pain – all with marginal success. Based upon experiments that show sensory input activates nearby areas of the Penfield map of the motor cortex after a limb is amputated, scientists now believe that the brain is more flexible, and therefore, the neuromatrix can be reorganized.

Treatment for Phantom Limb Pain

This research and insight into the organizational structure of the brain creates a huge opportunity for a new and exciting treatment for phantom limb pain – illusions. For example, Ramachandran and his colleagues are using mirrors to create the illusion that the phantom limb is real. Their belief is that altering the body image perception triggers remapping in the brain, which dissolved the “pain memories.” Taking this concept one step further, other researchers are beginning to use virtual reality tools to simulate phantom limbs, with the hope of improving the results experienced by Ramachandran.

Because severity of pain before amputation is a major risk factor, the best treatment for phantom limb pain begins before the phenomenon starts. Before surgery, patients should be as pain-free as possible. In addition, special care should be taken to ensure the patient heals quickly and without complications. Finally, if phantom limb pain develops, it may be most effectively treated by reorganizing the brain. While this may currently require the use of rudimentary illusion methods like the mirror box, there is no doubt that a better understanding of the neuromatrix and advancements in technology may enable future treatments like stimulation of specified brain regions and enhanced methods of creating illusions, perhaps by integrating the use of holograms, lasers and things perhaps we can only dream of at this point in time.

Implications for Future Treatment of Phantom Limb Pain

These advancements in treatment of phantom limb pain also have larger implications for science and medicine. The more we understand about the organizational function of the brain, the more effective we will be at treating any disorder, including pain. Eventually, we may also be able to recreate the “system” leading to advancements in limb replacement, robotics and artificial intelligence.