Brains On Purpose™

"Mind over matter? How your body does your thinking": Another article about embodied cognition research

As those of you who read this blog may recall, I sometimes post reminders that we "know" with more than just our minds and brains. Conflict does not just happen between brains. (See my post We think with more than just our minds: Conflict reaches clear down to our toes.)

Here's another article with that reminder from New Scientist. From "Mind over matter? How your body does your thinking":

"I THINK therefore I am," said Descartes. Perhaps he should have added: "I act, therefore I think."

Our ability to think has long been considered central to what makes us human. Now research suggests that our bodies and their relationship with the environment govern even our most 

Apples and oranges? Apples and PCs? Eastern brains and Western brains? Another look at cross-cultural conflict

 
The culture in which you live helps to sculpt your brain. I have blogged about that sculpting before because of its importance to conflict resolution. From A key to cross-cultural conflict resolution: Around the world in almost 80 (0,000,000) brains:

Neuroscience research is showing us that the brains of people in different cultures are not the same. Because brains differ from culture to culture, so will resistance to change. Also varying will be how conflict is viewed—and resolved.

Also see What's universal about mediaton? Confidentiality? Ownership of the dispute? Anything?.

When I observe cross-cultural conflict, I remind myself often (and still forget) that brains and the ways they perceive are not universal. To assume homogeneity can be foolish.

The field that researches differences in brains across cultures is cultural neuroscience. The author of an article in Tufts Magazine describes some of the research in this new field. I urge you to read the article because the research is extremely interesting, and highlights some of these brain differences.

The author also interviews researchers about how brains differ from culture to culture. From "The Brain in the World":

While it makes sense to think that people from different parts of the world will think about the world differently, we are only beginning to understand how deeply entrenched those differences are—right down to the way our brains themselves function.

Barely two years old, the field of cultural neuroscience is transforming the way scientists think about the brain. “Some of our most basic understandings of the mind and the brain might be really about Western industrialized minds and brains,” says Jon Freeman, a doctoral student in Tufts’ psychology department and the lead author of a chapter on cultural neuroscience for the annual journal Progress in Brain Research. After all, he notes, the vast majority of psychological research has been done in Western

Are mediators "Mr or Ms Beige"? A BBC article about neuroscience of conflict resolution (and another plug for telling your clients about their brains)

Although the article may have some contradictions, I suggest that you read "Can our brains help us solve conflicts?" (BBC News Magazine).

An example of a possible contradiction is when Baroness Susan Greenfield is quoted as saying:

[I]n  conflict resolution, the parties should avoid "highly arousing" environments that could lead to irrationality. Instead, she recommends a familiar, unchallenging, and bland atmosphere - such as a beige hotel room.

She also says a neutral third party, such as a friend, arbitration service, or statesman, can act as "Mr or Ms Beige" and guide the conflict resolution.

Later in the article, her co-speaker lawyer and mediator Jeremy Lack was quoted about the environment in which US and Soviet representatives negotiated.

He ... says that the environment can have a positive effect on creativity. For instance, US and Soviet disarmament negotiators famously went on a "walk in the woods" to help them devise new plans.

The woods are not bland. But, if the trees facilitated communication, the walk among them is likely a good example of Attention Restoration Theory (ART). (My past posts on ART: here and here.) One dispute resolution environment is not going to be the best fit for all clients; this is another instance of one size not fitting all.

Before I sign off so you can read the article, let me point out one study that Lady Greenfield mentions, although not specifically. I recognized which research she was describing because I have long thought the study is probably an indication (yes, I know I am extrapolating) that we should be teaching our clients about their brains.

Lady Greenfield says that simply telling children about the brain's plasticity - proving their ability to learn - can drastically improve their educational performance.

I think (and have only my experience to back this up) that telling clients about their brain's (and mind's) ability to resolve conflict, and about the obstacles the brain throws up to resolution, will improve resolution "performance." Here is the study [pdf] to which I believe Lady Greenfield is referring.