Jason Mitchell is the head of the Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab at Harvard University. He uses functional neuroimaging (fMRI) and behavioral methods to study how we infer the thoughts, feelings, and opinions of others (i.e., how we mentalize), as well as how we reason about counterfactual experiences. During Jason’s session on Day 1 of the 2010 Summit he explored the subject of “Making Sense of Others”.

Psychologists have begun to realize that a large part of what allows us to be such a force on this planet comes not only from our cognitive abilities but also a set of specialized abilities that allow us to harness the energies of other people and hook up to their minds. Humans have the unique ability to cooperate in ways that contribute more effective communities, by plugging into the know-how and information that resides in the head of each individual.

We are veracious mind readers and are constantly trying to make sense of others. In every day life we are very readily, almost continuously, tracking the various mental states of those with whom we engage.

One of the ways we do this is by making reference to what is happening in our own mind. However, to use ourselves as a basis for understanding another person, we must perceive them as appropriately similar to us. The complexity arises in this modern age where we are often engaged with different people who see the world differently.

So is there anything we can do to promote more of this overlap between self and other, to increase activity in the brain region to promote and encourage our brain to see a person as similar to us?

One way to increase the overlap is through explicit attempts to take that persons perspective. Jason suggests that by thinking for 1-2 minutes about what that person’s perspective might be like, what that person’s internal subjective experience might be like, you can subsequently demonstrate all sorts of pro-social effects.

Studies have shown that after a few minutes of perspective taking manipulation people tend to stereotype less, are more likely to be altruistic and share resources with somebody who’s perspective they have taken. The more you can make yourself create that overlap between self and others the more likely you are to show this overlap in neural activity.

For more Summit Insights visit http://blog.neuroleadership.org

To order the 2010 Summit recordings and accompanying slides click here

Labels: jason mitchell, neuroleadership, neuroleadership summit, neuroscience, summit