American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 56: 305–307, 2014Copyright © American Society of Clinical HypnosisISSN: 0002-9157 print / 2160-0562 onlineDOI: 10.1080/00029157.2013.827919

BOOK REVIEW

Hood, Bruce. (2012). The self illusion: How the social brain creates identity.New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 368 pp., $25.00 (hardcover), ISBN:10-0199897598.

In The Self Illusion: How the Social Brain Creates Identity, Bruce Hood offers a socialneuroscientific rationale for the contention that the sense of self is an illusion that resultsfrom the “constructed narrative that our brain creates” (p. xiii). A professor of develop-mental psychology in society at the University of Bristol who specializes in the cognitivedevelopment of children, Hood approaches the topic with a mix of humor and eruditionwhile covering an impressively wide range of research. The book is organized into ninechapters, each of which presents supporting evidence that the sense of self is primar-ily the result of early-childhood social interactions. Hood utilizes the early chapters tointroduce the human brain as a highly specialized organ which has evolved to integratea preference for social stimuli in concert with the inhibitory functions specific to thecerebral cortex. He then goes on to explore myriad fundamental studies that support thenotion of a socially created self. Finally, Hood closes with an explanation of the self asan emergent property of its social environments. Although there are numerous points inthe book where the logic from one chapter does not necessarily connect with that in thenext, overall the book is an engaging and intelligent review of what social neurosciencecan currently offer by way of explaining the self.

Hood opens the text with a sense of awe, praising the human brain as “the mostwondrous organ” (p. 1). This awe results from his examination of the interconnectivityostensible among the various functional modules of the brain and the resultant process-ing power of cerebral communication. Hood is especially interested in how the illusion ofthe self emerges as a result of such interconnectivity during the early years of childhood,when “the illusion of the reflective self we experience is constructed by those around usthrough our social interactions” (p. 36). His argument in the early chapters of the booktends to be internally consistent. However, there are areas that challenge the reader tointegrate contradictory assertions. For example, Hood defines the self as “something atthe core of someone’s existence . . . the essence of who someone is” (p. 112, emphasisin original). Yet, he states:

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[t]his core of self, wandering down the path of development, enduring things that life throws at usis, however, the illusion. Like every other aspect of human development, the emergence of the selfis epigenetic—an interaction of the genes in the environment. The self emerges out of that journeythrough the epigenetic landscape, combining the legacy of our genetic heritage with the influence ofthe early environment. (p. 114)

Hood next turns his attention to the concept of free will and what it says about thedevelopment of the self. He begins by suggesting that “there is something very wrongin the way we tend to think about the link between brain, behavior, and the mind”(p. 118). Moreover, “Our belief in free will not only reflects our personal and subjec-tive experience of control over our actions on a daily basis, but also our own ignoranceof the mechanisms, both conscious and unconscious, that determine our considerations”(p. 124).

This might be the most provocative and powerful statement in the entire book.However, it is ensconced within what might be perceived as an overreaching consider-ation that includes determinism, quantum probabilities within neurons, the well-knownP300 potential, ego depletion, and humanity’s difficulties with making purely rationaldecisions.

Interestingly, Hood pays homage to clinical hypnosis. He introduces the phenomenonas a splendid example of abdicating one’s sense of free will, and recognizes the impor-tance of a proper hypnotic induction to facilitate behavioral compliance. Hood concludeshis thoughts on clinical hypnosis with a positive yet honest review. “The academicdebates over what is actually going on during hypnosis are still raging, but it is fairto conclude that hypnotism [sic] is a real phenomenon. . . .” (p. 138). Hood then returnsto how the social environment influences the development of the illusory sense of self.He cites a range of evidence indicating that culture strongly influences even the mostbasic elements of human functioning:

We make sense of [the world] by organizing the information into meaningful patterns. Much of thishappens automatically, as part of the package we inherit through our genes as the organizing brainprocesses that generate our perceptions. Sitting atop these built-in perceptual processes is cognition—the higher-order operations that guide perception. (p. 216)

Essentially, argues Hood, our perceptions of self and other are directed epigeneticallyby the social environment. Humans are susceptible to a milieu of social pressures, all ofwhich over time possess the ability to alter one’s sense of personal identity.

Indeed, Hood argues that memories of autobiographical events form the “stories welive by” (p. 220). This is followed by an especially interesting discussion of the role ofthe left cortical hemisphere and the function of language. Hodd explains:

We are all naturally inclined to interpret the world in terms of meaningful stories, and this probablyreflects the activity of a system . . . which appears to be localized to the left hemisphere. . . . We arenot aware of this system normally as our brain processes are effortlessly and invisibly integratedbelow our levels of awareness. . . . Rather, the mind is a product of the mental processes of the brainthat are shared across the two hemispheres. Language has the advantage of providing the narrative

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output, so the . . . left hemisphere is able to articulate a coherent account to integrate the differentpieces of information. (pp. 232–233)

These statements are highly congruent with the foundational assumptions of clinicalhypnotic work and merit careful consideration.

Hood next describes the burgeoning role of the Internet and its potential effects on thesocial environment and thus the development of the illusory self. This is an intriguingchapter whose absence would not appreciably detract from the book as a whole. It isa mélange of personal anecdote, concern mixed with optimism, and a consideration ofsome fairly interesting research on the power of technologically-mediated social net-working to effect communication. The implementation of this chapter leaves somethingto be desired, but it does make one think.

The book closes with a very brief but erudite summation for the functional util-ity of the sense of self. Hood returns to the notion that children are primed for socialinteraction. We are born with brain mechanisms that have evolved to:

seek out information from the world and then keep a record of those experiences. . . . That funda-mental principle works all the way up the nervous system from simple eye movements to the fullrepertoire of human thoughts and behaviors—the same activities that give rise to the self. (p. 290)

The illusory sense of self therefore results from “the richness of human activity andinteraction. . . . As the brain deteriorates, then so must the self” (p. 290). Ultimately,Hood seeks to settle the phenomenon of the sense of self thusly: “It’s not magic—it’sjust basic neurophysiology describing how the pattern-seeking structures of the brainprefer order and create explanations” (p. 294).

Attempting a bottom-up explanation of the sense of self is no small feat, and onemust be careful not to fault Hood if his efforts are less than wholly successful. TheSelf Illusion: How the Social Brain Creates Identity is an intelligently written and thor-oughly enjoyable book. Indeed, it is truly rare to find a text so engaging while beingso remarkably broad in grasp of the research. This book would make excellent requiredreading for upper-level undergraduate or beginning graduate students as a guide towardconceptualizing the broad range of human behavior.

Jason A. Kaufman, Ph.D.Psychology Department

Inver Hills Community CollegeInver Grove Heights, Minnesota