Overview

Students will be given a light introduction to cognitive neuroscience, learning about how the brain makes decisions based on all of the information it is given. A special focus will be on situations that may make a person more susceptible to mental illness, and tools that students can consider if they are concerned about their thinking

Teaching Outcomes

• Students will understand and name some of the different cognitive tools our brains use
• Students will be able to identify situations in which our brains may apply some of these cognitive tools

Theory and Background Information

The brain receives a large amount of information at any given second, and making decisions based on all of the information provided would be extremely difficult. The brain has shortcuts called heuristics that it uses to help it make quick decisions even when faced with a myriad of choices. We will discuss a number of them below.

Satisficing

When at the library trying to find a book to read, instead of conducting an in-depth Internet search beforehand, you may have simply picked the first one that looked interesting enough (and certainly your students have done this while selecting a book for a book report). This technique is called satisficing, and is where people pick the first option that is presented to them that is good enough.

It is intuitive to see how this can be problematic - sometimes if we are more patient, a better option can arise for whatever we are considering. Being aware that our brains have a tendency to stop at the first acceptable option can hopefully make us more patient, especially for more important decisions.

Representativeness Heuristic

Some mathematics (data management and probability) is needed to fully appreciate this heuristic, and is best illustrated with an example.

Which of the following coin flip combinations do you think is more probable (H = heads; T = tails):

H H H H T H H

H T T H H T H

If you chose the bottom, you are not alone - because it has an additional “tails,” it looks more balanced and random. In fact, as the probability of flipping a head each time is ½, the probability of both of these exact combinations is the exact same, at about 1.6% (that is, ½×½×½×½×½×½ or (½)6.

We tend to believe that some events are less representative of all of the options of something happening than they actually are; that is, that the top-looking options is much less probable than the bottom option. (Consider, also, that H H H H H H is just as likely as the above options, too).

This heuristic is double-edged. In many cases, it works, such as informing our outfit choice knowing the season and that it has been clear the last couple of days. Inversely, this can lead us to rely too much on anecdotes, or individual stories which we may take to represent an entire population. Representativeness heuristics like this can mean that we assume too much about any single person or group, based on one experience with a similar person.

Availability Heuristic

Sometimes we will make judgements about something based on how easily we can think of an example of it. This makes sense in terms of a mental shortcut - if we can think of instances relating to the subject at hand based off what we know, then extending it to the current situation is intuitive.

This heuristic can make us “lazy’ by not encouraging us to think as critically as we need to about a situation, instead relying on the first instance of what we know about something. Similar to the representativeness heuristic, we need to be aware that just because we can recall one situation regarding/involving an object/group (i.e. just because it is easily  available mentally to us), it does not mean that this represents all of that group.

Sunk-Cost Fallacy

This judgement error leads us to believe that because we have expended effort/time/money into something, we should continue to do so for the sake of recuperating whatever resources we put into it. This can lead to gamblers continuing to gamble in mistaken belief that they will at some point be able to win back the money they have spent.

This can be detrimental in relationships, both romantic and platonic - if one spends considerable time and effort cultivating a relationship only for it to continue going poorly, then instead of pursuing the more healthy action of ending the relationship, one may continue it. Unhealthy relationships can contribute to the onset and maintenance of some mental illnesses.

The Power of Positive Thinking

A slight shift in topic, our brains are remarkably adept at allowing us to consider other perspectives for any given situation. Consider some slightly unfortunate event, like missing a bus, or forgetting someone’s birthday. Both of these are unfortunate, but may provide different opportunities, like walking and getting some exercise, or planning an activity together for a different day.

This cannot and should not be applied to every situation, though - it is not healthy to suppress feelings towards more impactful events by trying to artificially “stay positive.” The idea here is to consider that situations are rarely exclusively bad, though, and even for more negative events such as a breakup, to mourn appropriately, but to also consider how it may provide an opportunity for growth and renewal.

In conclusion, being aware of some of the tricks our brains use to make decisions, and to reflect on the impact that positive thinking can have on our lives, the hope is that students walk away with a greater understanding of how they interact with and understand the world. Emphasizing that these are just some of the heuristics used, and that an awareness of them doesn’t mean that our brains stop using them is important. This awareness can help students try and counteract some of them by recognizing when they may be able to negotiate a situation more tactfully/effectively by actively working against the bias that may be at play.

Preparations

• Reflect on the above concepts, and how students could incorporate them into their lives

• The activity will involve either telling a story with the above, or reflecting on a time in students lives where they may have used one of these heuristics

Activity

• Present the above content to students, then have them complete this worksheet.

• Its solutions can be found here.

Resources: Content

Sternberg 6

Resources: Images

Neurons (in worksheet): http://www.somersault1824.com/science-illustrations/