The Metaphorical Brain

The Metaphorical Brain

Your brain tends to confuse the figurative with the literal – and it matters.

In the post The Innovating Brain, I describe how brain regions interact dynamically in large-scale networks to produce complex cognitive functions and behaviors. Like we can combine three primary colors to create different colors and shades, the brain also combines other regions to express different cognitive functions and behaviors. Some of these cognitive functions share the same combination of networks, though, and these overlappings reveal astounding quirks of the brain.

Beauty & Morale

Facial & Morale Aesthetics.

Neurally, the appreciation of facial beauty and moral beauty overlap. We use the same brain circuitry when contemplating whether we find someone to be beautiful or not or whether we find someone virtuous or not. While assessing facial beauty is based on physical aspects, considering moral beauty is based on abstract social meanings devoid of any physical beauty. Both are characterized independently, but they interact, which lays a strong foundation for bias.

Good is beautiful, and bad is ugly.

If a person displays virtuous behavior, we are likely to perceive them as morally good and physically beautiful. Imagine a kid is running after a ball when suddenly a man steps in to prevent the kid from running onto the road and into oncoming traffic. Anyone observing the scene might admire the thoughtfulness and kindness and perceive the man as a beautiful person. We judge once, but we come up with two judgments because they share the same circuitry. The bias works both ways, as a look at Hollywood villains confirms. If we deem the observed behavior as bad, we are biased to perceive the person as ugly. Ugliness is a mark of bad character way back to the Grimm fairytales.

Moral beauty is inspiring.

Seeing or imagining acts of charity or gratitude leaves us impressed by their beauty and triggers a strong desire to do acts of charity and gratitude. The better the moral action and the more beautiful the face involved, the stronger the activity in the corresponding area responsible for encoding values and appraising emotions. We are morally elevated and aspire to do good ourselves. Statistically, moral beauty is also directly linked to popularity and social status.

When beautiful is terrible.

Suppose the information we receive does not align, for example. In that case, we see an attractive woman being nasty, then this registers as conflict and gets passed on to another brain region for deeper analysis. On the other hand, everyday situations are likely to be subject to this bias.

Art & Empathy

Appreciation is like a muscle.

Appreciating art can strengthen your ability to empathize. Appreciating people can improve your ability to understand art. Empathy can be seen as an aesthetic appreciation of another person. Art requires the interpretation of emotional content. Both art and empathy rely on the mirroring of emotional content. Studies indicate that this potential tie can be used to increase emotion intensity and the experience and evaluation of art. Perhaps this also explains why personal development often goes hand in hand with developing an appreciation for nature.

Hygiene & Clean Slate

The reset button.

I have this tick. I usually clean my desk and clear my inbox when I start a new project. I might even sort my notes first. It gives me a good and calm feeling, even a sense of control. I am not alone with this tick. Many people use cleanliness and orderliness to release affective distress, but there is also more to it. We give ourselves that feeling of starting anew. Research shows that washing, be it simply washing our hands, taking a shower, or cleaning the house, decreases our previous emotional involvement. It clears the stage for something new. This effect also applies to social norm violations. Let’s say we lied to a friend. Taking a shower can bring a bit of relief. We are washing off the feelings we don’t like or don’t need anymore. Washing brings a clean slate. In one study, this even reset bias: people ranked 10 DVDs in the order they liked and then received one of the DVDs for free. This usually biased the order of liking, where the free DVD would rise in rank. Unless the people first washed their hands, then the bias didn’t take effect. Gives a whole new spin on baptism.

Social & Physical

The social and physical are intertwined.

In a way, each of the earlier examples had a social and physical element. These are two profound dimensions we inhabit. A look into the brain reveals that they are linked to pleasure and pain. Social and physical rewards share the same networks, and social and physical pain also!

Neurologically, turning someone politely down is equivalent to slapping them in the face. We feel social rejection like physical pain, and taking pain relief has proven to have an analgesic effect on a broken heart. The same goes the other way around; a social reward such as giving appreciation or treating someone fair can stimulate reward centers in the brain even more than financial gains. We navigate life based on pain or pleasure, not just physically but also socially.

There are five social awards and threats that are incredibly vital to the brain, as these have the most significant impact on triggering either a reward or pain. These are status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, and equality. No wonder conversations can end up in a rut: you give feedback, but feedback can be perceived as an attack on status, which would feel to the brain like a physical attack and launches counterattacks—fertile ground for conflicts. On a positive note, it also explains why praise is such a valuable reward. I will be expanding more on each of these in later posts as they are a key to handling any social situation.

Embodiment

Your body language shapes who you are.

An article on overlappings wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the significant overlap of body and emotions. Standing two minutes in a power pose can boost your confidence, increase testosterone levels, and decrease your cortisol levels. Getting depressed people to smile makes them feel better. Muscle relaxants decrease anxiety, whereas hunching and taking a submissive posture reduces testosterone and increases cortisol levels. Interoceptive information plays a crucial role in determining our emotions.

Focus on what you want.

One overlapping explains why we sometimes do just what we were trying to avoid. A region in the brain identifies what is essential with one stream and uses another to track whether the conclusion was to do so or not. Under stress, these two streams can dissociate, and you can do exactly what you were trying to avoid. These are the instances where you keep telling yourself, don’t forget your car key on the way out, or don’t forget to buy milk on the way home. A better solution is to visualize yourself picking up your key on the way out and stopping at the shop on the way home.

Conclusion