A Neurobiologist’s GuideTo Mind Manipulation

“Intra-LA infusions of garcinol impair training-related acetylation of histone H3 and fear memory consolidation.”My Papers

Casey’s Research

Overview

A. Cognitive Restructuring B. Psychological Safety

Part A Cognitive Restructuring

1. Inner vs Outer Brain 2. Brain as a System 3. Downward Spiral 4. CBT background 5. How to CBT

1. Inner vs Outer Brain

LeDoux’s Dual Pathway

Inner vs Outer Brain

Walking through the woods…

Feelings

Limbic System“inner brain”

“low road”FAST ~ms

Thoughts

Cortex“outer brain”

“high road”

SLOW ~s

2. Brain as a System

automatic response deliberate response

Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.

In our response lies our growth and freedom.

- Viktor Frankl

An Engineer’s System

Inputs

- stimuli from the environment - current bodily state - spontaneous thoughts- spontaneous emotions

Hangry

3. Downward Spiral

Anxiety a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease,

typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.

Rumination compulsively focused attention on the symptoms of one's distress, and on its possible causes and

consequences, as opposed to its solutions

How do we fix this?

4. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Background

Depression Anxiety

Bipolar disorder Eating disorders Schizophrenia

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Mental Illnesses

Cognitive BehavioralTherapy Training

Everyone benefits from understanding thoughts &

emotions better

However:

- it’s uncomfortable at first - it takes time - it takes energy

5. How Do? Cognitive Restructuring

npm install constant-introspection debugging tool

1. Notice input 2. Process thoughts & emotions 3. Choose response

1. Whoop!

2a. Process Emotions

View emotions as data

non-judgmentally

Expand emotional vocabulary

Processing Techniques

- write them out - talk about them

2b. Process Thoughts

Now we have emotion data

observe how emotions affect thoughts

Maladaptive Cognitions

or

Unhelpful Thoughts

3. Choose Response

1. Notice inputs 2. Process thoughts & emotions

3. Choose response

Other Tools

Joyable (app) Therapist

Questions? Emotion in the Brain

Cognitive Restructuring

Part B Psychological Safety

PsycSafe vs

“Safe Space”

PsycSafety shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking

- Amy Edmondson

Project Aristotle (Google)

Failed Correlations personality types

skills backgrounds

management style

Group Norms

Collective Intelligence (Collective IQ)

PsycSafe

higher collective IQ

non-PsycSafe

lower collective IQ

Two Correlations 1. conversational turn-taking 2. average social sensitivity (~= empathy)

1. Conversational Turn-Taking

2. Social Sensitivity“Reading the Mind in the Eyes”

Improving PsycSafety

1. Conversational Turn-Taking 2. Decrease Riskiness

1. ConversationalTurn-taking

Earned Dogmatism Effect Frame as learning

Acknowledge fallibility Ask many questions Declare unknowns

Earned Dogmatism Effect

Framing

learning opportunities >execution problems

Acknowledge Own Fallibility

“I may miss something — I need to hear from you.”

Model Curiosity ask many questions

Declare Unknowns

each of these could use a subtitle thing

Earned Dogmatism Effect Frame as learning

Acknowledge fallibility Ask many questions Declare unknowns

1. Conversational Turn-Taking 2. Decrease Riskiness

2. Decrease Riskiness (Empathy++)

Propinquity Vulnerability Validation

Depersonalize Ideas Task vs Relationship (PEARLS)

Propinquity

Vulnerability

Validation recognition and acceptance of another person's thoughts,

feelings, sensations, and behaviors as understandable

(whether or not you agree)

1. Be Present 2. Accurate Reflection 3. Mind Reading 4. Context: their background 5. “anyone would” 6. Radical Genuineness

Validation Levels

Depersonalize Ideas

Task Channel vs Relationship Channel

PEARLS

PEARLS

Propinquity Vulnerability Validation

Depersonalize Ideas PEARLS

1. Conversational Turn-Taking 2. Decrease Riskiness

Questions?

Yay! fin

Haidt’s Elephant Model

Post-hocRationalization

why can't we easily access the whole emotional brain?

it's like having debugging tools always on, in production