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hrchohenusc · 6 years ago

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Neuroscience of Empathy

Analysis

Empathy in General:

Cognitive empathy is the ability to understand how a person feels and what they might be thinking. Cognitive empathy makes us better communicators, because it helps us relay information in a way that best reaches the other person.

Emotional empathy (also known as affective empathy) is the ability to share the feelings of another person. Some have described it as "your pain in my heart." This type of empathy helps you build emotional connections with others.

Compassionate empathy (also known as empathic concern) goes beyond simply understanding others and sharing their feelings: it actually moves us to take action, to help however we can.

Resource: https://www.inc.com/justin-bariso/there-are-actually-3-types-of-empathy-heres-how-they-differ-and-how-you-can-develop-them-all.html

Empathy is a crucial component of human emotional experience and social interaction. The ability to share the affective states of our closest ones and complete strangers allows us to predict and understand their feelings, motivations and actions.

Empathy occurs when the observation or imagination of affective states in another induces shared states in the observer. This state is also associated with knowledge that the target is the source of the affective state in the self.

The discovery of mirror neurons, a class of neurons in monkey premotor and parietal cortices activated during execution and observation of actions, provided a neural mechanism for shared representations in the domain of action understanding, creating what is known as mimicry.

Mimicry: the tendency to synchronize the affective expressions, vocalizations, postures, and movements of another person

Resource: The Neural Basis of Empathy Boris C. Bernhardt and Tania Singer Annual Review of Neuroscience 2012 35:1, 1-23

Brain imaging studies that have investigated the neural underpinnings of human empathy. Using mainly functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the majority of studies suggest that observing affective states in others activates brain networks also involved in the firsthand experience of these states, confirming the notion that empathy is, in part, based on shared networks In particular, anterior insular (AI) and dorsal-anterior/anterior- mid cingulate cortex (dACC/aMCC) play central roles in vicarious responses in the domain of disgust, pleasant or unpleasant tastes, physical and emotional pain and other social emotions such as embarrassment or admiration

Resource: The Neural Basis of Empathy Boris C. Bernhardt and Tania Singer Annual Review of Neuroscience 2012 35:1, 1-23

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3021497/

Amygdala: a region of the brain that scientists associate with emotional learning and fear conditioning; is important to evaluation and preference development. responsible for the fight, flight or freeze emotional response to stimuli.

What is looks like in Children vs Adults:

Empathic emotional response in the young child may be stronger, whereas sympathetic behavior may be less differentiated. With age and increased maturation of the mPFC, dlPFC and vmPFC, in conjunction with input from interpersonal experiences that are strongly modulated by various contextual and social factors such as ingroup versus outgroup processes, children and adolescents become sensitive to social norms regulating prosocial behavior and, accordingly, may become more selective in their response to others.

A comprehensive social neuroscience theory of empathy requires the specification of various causal mechanisms producing some outcome variable (e.g. helping behavior), the moderator variables (e.g. implicit attitudes, ingroup/outgroup processes) that influence the conditions under which each of these mechanisms operate, and the unique consequences resulting from each of them.

Empathy typically emerges as the child comes to a greater awareness of the experience of others, during the second and third years of life, and arises in the context of a social interaction.

By the age of 12 months, infants begin to comfort victims of distress, and by 14–18 months, children display spontaneous helping behaviors.

Affective responsiveness is known to be present at an early age, is involuntary, and relies on mimicry and somatosensorimotor resonance between other and self. For instance, newborns and infants become vigorously distressed shortly after another infant begins to cry.

A significant negative correlation between age and degree of activation was found in the posterior insula. In contrast, a positive correlation was found in the anterior portion of the insula. This posterior-to-anterior progression of increasingly complex re-representations in the human insula is thought to provide a foundation for the sequential integration of the individual homeostatic condition with one's sensory environment and motivational condition.

Posterior Insula: receives inputs from the ventromedial nucleus of the thalamus, which is highly specialized for conveying emotional and homeostatic information such as pain, temperature, hunger, thirst, itch and cardiorespiratory activity posterior part has been shown to be associated with interoception due to connections with the amygdala, hypothalamus, ACC and OFC

Right Anterior Insula serves to compute a higher-order metarepresentation of the primary interoceptive activity, which is related to the feeling of pain and its emotional awareness

Regulatory mechanisms continue into late adolescence and early adulthood, greater signal change with increasing age was found in the prefrontal regions involved in cognitive control and response inhibition, such as the dlPFC and inferior frontal gyrus. Overall, this pattern of age-related change in the amygdala, insula and PFC can be interpreted in terms of the frontalization of inhibitory capacity, hypothesized to provide a greater top-down modulation of activity within more primitive emotion-processing regions. Another important age-related change was detected in the vmPFC/OFC: activation in the OFC in response to pain inflicted by another shifted from its medial portion in young participants to the lateral portion in older participants.

Cultural Acceptance: (science of bias)

Implicit (unconscious) bias: A bias in behavior and/or judgement that results from subtle cognitive processes and occurs on a level below a person’s conscious awareness, without intentional or conscious control. Based in the subconscious and can be developed overtime due to a natural accumulation of personal experiences.

Implicit, or unconscious bias, as defined above, is a subtle cognitive process that starts in the amygdala. This type of bias can be understood as a “form of rapid ‘social categorization,’ whereby we routinely and rapidly sort people into groups.” 2 Dr. Brainard (MS, MA, PhD), of the Brainard Strategy, highlights the parts of the brain that create bias: Amygdala, Hippocampus, Temporal lobe Media frontal cortex

Resources:

https://www.spectradiversity.com/2017/12/27/unconscious-bias/

https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=JA9nDAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA163&dq=social+neuroscience+approach+cognitive+bias&ots=UXxRc6_yn1&sig=jDpspsU9ge782p_llwa6K9wvI8o#v=onepage&q=social%20neuroscience%20approach%20cognitive%20bias&f=false

Results:

A study published in the Journal of Neuroscience on October 9, 2013, Max Planck researchers identified that the tendency to be egocentric is innate for human beings – but that a part of your brain recognizes a lack of empathy and autocorrects. This specific part of your brain is called the the right supramarginal gyrus. When this brain region doesn't function properly—or when we have to make particularly quick decisions—the researchers found one’s ability for empathy is dramatically reduced.

Until now, social neuroscience models have assumed that people simply rely on their own emotions as a reference for empathy. This only works, however, if we are in a neutral state or the same state as our counterpart. Otherwise, the brain must use the right supramarginal gyrus to counteract and correct a tendency for self-centered perceptions of another’s pain, suffering or discomfort.

Resources:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-athletes-way/201310/the-neuroscience-empathy

https://www.mpg.de/research/supramarginal-gyrus-empathy

Contrary Points of View:

Yale University professor of psychology and cognitive science Paul Bloom thinks a lot gray resides in such a black-and-white definition, and that there is more danger than good adopting such a simplistic view of empathy. At the heart of his article lies an important distinction between emotional versus cognitive empathy. Briefly, the former is literally feeling what another is experiencing, while the latter implies sympathizing with the other—understanding what’s going on without necessarily going through the same emotional whirlwind or “empathetic distress”.

Paul Bloom, Against Empathy http://bostonreview.net/forum/paul-bloom-against-empathy

Derek Beres, The Case Against Empathy https://bigthink.com/21st-century-spirituality/the-case-against-empathy-2

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hrchohenusc · 6 years ago

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Process Journal: Contingency Management

Individual capabilities and the collective capabilities of your team:

Ryan: In our initial conversation, the team demonstrated an equal amount of passion for the subject. We are equally vested in seeing change in our world and each of us believed that the way to do it is through education.

Maggie: Totally on-board with Ryan’s response above! Nothing really to add; was so excited by everyone’s perspectives and passion on the call.

Hannah: I would have echo my teammates responses as well. We were all very much on board with the emphasis being on education and seemed to all be able to bring a unique perspective on ideas to move us forward.

1. Establish reasonable and feasible goals and standards. What are your and your team’s intentions and are they in line with your abilities. Where does your team have gaps and how will you mitigate that?

Our goal is to create a reusable, adaptable curriculum platform that can be used by local cultures and religions. There are four key components that we need to research prior to committing to the breadth of scope we want to cover:

1. Research (qualitative and quantitative): Answer the questions:

Why are people not empathetic?

Does the answer vary by region, culture, religion or is it more innate to the human mind & human nature?

What are the socio/religious/political roadblocks we might face in different communities to this type of education?

What are the guardrails we need to consider in order to build something that can be effective in any cultural environment?

2. In understanding the answer of number 1, think about the scope that can be tackled in the project to test the premise/hypothesis. (IE. Do we test this in a focused region?

3. How might our research on cultural backgrounds, socio-economic disparities, etc help to inform our approach and scope?) What are our measurement(s) for success? What are our KPI’s? How do we know if we’ve impacted empathy in our chosen population?

4. Based on the scope and KPI’s, outline key components of the platform needed to accomplish the scope outlined in number 2 and KPIs as defined in number 3.

2. Be strict and consistent. Do not promise what you cannot deliver. Talk with your team on how to stay within scope and meet and exceed expectations within your collective means.

We will establish a recurring schedule of meetings and work windows in order to accommodate our varying schedules and time zones. We will maintain open lines of communication week by week of what is feasible for all of us individually with full trust and the understanding that we are all committed to the cause equally. Open lines of communication and support will help to maintain an efficient workflow, as will leveraging the various technologies we have at our disposal including Slack and Zoom.

3. Reward yourself. What incentives do you and your team value when you meet your goals and, conversely, what is agreed upon and accepted “consequences” for you or your team members not contributing or behaving poorly?

We value the sense of purpose and accomplishment. We are driven by a drive to make a difference through real results. If we can accomplish even impacting one region, in one part of the world, I believe that we have solved a huge problem. Consequences of behaving poorly or not contributing is, to me, an opportunity for me to be empathetic to my teammates or grant myself the flexibility to screw up, course correct and start again. Some days are good, some days are bad but tomorrow is always a new day. We are all approaching it with the same passion, dedication, and openness to feedback & constructive criticism.

Maggie: We will establish a recurring schedule of meetings and work windows in order to accommodate our varying schedules and time zones. We will maintain open lines of communication week by week of what is feasible for all of us individually with full trust and the understanding that we are all committed to the cause equally. Open lines of communication and support will help to maintain an efficient workflow, as will leveraging the various technologies we have at our disposal including Slack and Zoom.

Reward yourself. What incentives do you and your team value when you meet your goals and, conversely, what is agreed upon and accepted “consequences” for you or your team members not contributing or behaving poorly?

Ryan: I value the sense of purpose and accomplishment. If we can accomplish even impacting one region, in one part of the world, I believe that we have solved a huge problem. Consequences of behaving poorly or not contributing is, to me, an opportunity for me to be empathetic to my teammates or grant myself the flexibility to screw up, course correct and start again. Some days are good, some days are bad but tomorrow is always a new day.

Maggie: I love everything you said, Ryan. I have full faith in my team that they are approaching this with the same passion and dedication I am, so if something falters or gets dropped, it’s important we allow ourselves to be human and not allow it to reflect on anyone’s commitment as a team member. Shit happens!

Hannah: I completely agree with Ryan as well. I personally feel very strongly about this project and the incentive for me is putting action to purpose. The opportunity to make a difference and create a plan that can be realistically applied is a great driving force. As far as consequences I also agree that it allows for each of us to improve our own responses through empathy and strengthen communication. I believe that being open and accepting constructive criticism is key to a successful team.

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hrchohenusc · 6 years ago

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Process Journal: The Destination and Journey

Responses

Group Subject: Our approach to World Peace is grounded in a new Global Curriculum with a focus on the science of human tolerance and empathy. We want to start by helping people understand how their brain works & how they can change the way they think. Our mission is to disarm and educate people who are convinced they understand their own convictions and biases through exposure to the social and psychological science behind their understanding of the world around them.

Hannah:

I believe that education is the key to building empathy and bringing acceptance to our global community. How well do we really know our global cultures and how well do we understand our own reactions towards them? By implementing a Global Curriculum that spans from a young age and carries throughout higher education we hope to teach empathy and acceptance by emphasizing the science and psychology of how our brains and emotional responses work. Learning the science of empathy will lead to understanding how to better coexist and care for our global community.

I have always been personally fascinated with human psychology and how individual emotional responses can differ so greatly from one person to the next. I have been very fortunate to have grown up in an open and inclusive family, where exploration of differences were encouraged. From a young age I was introduced to so many different types of people from various cultures through travel that have led to priceless educational experiences.

Ryan:

I am passionate about the human experience and our ability to ‘change our brains’. We have a gap in people understanding how empowering it is know that we are not stuck in the way we are today. I believe that we should be teaching children this incredible skill early on and throughout school.

Learning about empathy and how our brain works has been a personal journey for me over many years. My self taught skills gives the group a personal and scientific understanding to solve this problem. Maggie:

I firmly believe that we have an obligation to empower our children and future generations to take control of their own minds and well-being in a world rife with social and political chasms, overexposure to media, and an overwhelming public display of false facades. Giving them their humanity back by educating them about how their own minds and their own psychology works to find common ground and build empathy is incredibly important to create a happier and safer world. We should not just be teaching them to ultimately perform in the workplace, we should be teaching them how to perform as humans. I have become fascinated by the emotional and psychological development of children after becoming a parent, so this is very much a personal passion point for me, and something I spend time exploring and researching in my own life; I’m really looking forward to sharing and evolving this understanding with the group.

Notes from Team Meeting

Integrate a mandatory curriculum on tolerance and humanity

It’s a binary system right now, where it’s fundamentally STEM or liberal arts

How can you introduce the “unknown” into the “known” via education tapping into psychology and the brain

How can you be a whole person instead of somebody who is just “good at something”

How can bring science into this idea? Teaching people empathy through science; show how deviations from human empathy can be an objectively dangerous path.

Gaming component to engage parents and communities around the emotional development of children

Virtual classrooms to educate and bring adults along the progress and process

Non-threatening way to encourage understanding and empathy for other cultures.

How can we disarm people who are convinced they understand their own convictions?

If you’re able to understand how you work, you’re going to understand better how others work.

People don’t believe they can change their brain, but don’t realize how much they can take into their own hands how they view the world around them.

Checks and balances that are grounded in science vs the older standards of religion etc.

The more we can remove subjectivity to empathy and bias, the more we can encourage people to understand their own abilities to be more “human”.

How do you address people who don’t care whether they’re believing something “true” or “false”.

How can we be respectful of cultural access and avoid appropriation respectfully as an allie.

How to address socioeconomic, historical, cultural context to the status quo and how to navigate that.

Preliminary Research

Philosophy Now Article, Compassion & Peace by Michael Allen Fox

https://philosophynow.org/issues/80/Compassion_and_Peace

Fox, Michael Allen. Understanding Peace a Comprehensive Introduction. Routledge-Taylor & Francis, 2014.

The Science of Empathy by Helen Riess, MD (Article published 2017 in the Journal of Patient Experinece)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5513638/

The Neuroscience of Empathy by Kim Armstrong

https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/i-feel-your-pain-the-neuroscience-of-empathy

The Science of Empathy: What Researchers Want Teachers to Know by Sydney Johnson

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2019-02-19-the-science-of-empathy-what-researchers-want-teachers-to-know

Learning and the Brain: Conference Series

https://www.learningandthebrain.com/about-us

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hrchohenusc · 6 years ago

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Creative Problem Solving Interviews

Jacqueline Johnson, DVM

Specializes in Equine Veterinary Medicine

1. How do you generate ideas? (How are you inspired? What inspires you? What

obstacles do you face in coming up with a new idea and how do you overcome those obstacles?)

When I am tasked with generating new ideas for diagnostics or surgical needs I take a very collaborative approach. I start by talking to trusted colleagues and contacting leaders in my field of equine medicine. I also heavily rely on research. Reading veterinary medical journals like the monthly American Veterinary Surgery Journal to stay up to date on new methods and techniques being researched helps me better generate new ideas in my own practice. I am often inspired my patient cases, as with humans, each animal responds differently to different injuries or illnesses so picking out those differences and determining the patterns in new cases can be very inspiring. As an equine specialist I am always driven by healing time, generating new ideas that involve the least amount of trauma we can cause using new materials and methods is always an inspiration.

Because I am dealing with large animals there are plenty of obstacles that I have to consider and try to overcome. One of the biggest obstacles is simply fearing the unknown and wondering if your solution will actually work. There is a lot of trail and error that goes into veterinary medicine and because you are dealing with a life and trying to help an animal that is unable to tell you what’s wrong, it can cause a lot of stress. To overcome these hurdles I am always weighing what is tried and true versus what might be right for the individual horse I am treating, what may be easiest to perform on the patient and lastly, what is realistically achievable with the given perimeters.

2. What process do you use to solve problems? (Describe the steps of your problem-solving process.)

I use a very collaborative and research based process while solving problems. First I diagnose the problem or problems based on my knowledge of the symptoms that present themselves in the horse. Then I consult colleagues and leaders in my field or in any specialized field that may be involved. After talking through the case I do a deep dive of research on the topic that may include case studies, new surgical techniques and medical journals. I identify the things I am most comfortable and knowledgable about then make a list of the things I am less familial with. With the last I am not as comfortable with I go back to my research and collaboration with colleagues. Finally I start by using any practice models that may be available and go ahead with the diagnoses or surgery.

Joshua Cohen,

President of E-Commerce, VP of Business Development at Intelligent Blends

Joshua Cohen is the founder of the e-commerce division and head of marketing at Intelligent Blends, an innovative co packer, manufacturer and solutions provider for the rapidly growing single-serve beverage market. He has Established and maintained successful business channels to propel Intelligent Blend’s explosive growth year over year, simultaneously overseeing development of the company's brands. Working with the sales team, he drives private label/co-packing leads and offers strategic support to clients and partners.

How do you generate ideas? (How, when, and where are you inspired? What inspires you?

I generate ideas by exploring the spectrum of offerings in a market or among audiences. I start with a persona or demographic and I begin to consider matches, in my case for products that they can buy online or in retail settings. I never start with the idea of revenue and revenue is not inspiring by itself. I’m inspired to build opportunity and to create jobs. I’m inspired to create businesses, brands and products that make happy customers. It can happen anywhere and at anytime, but I tend to become inspired when passion and happiness meet logic, bringing clarity to an idea and making me want to take action on it.

What obstacles do you face in coming up with a new idea and how do you overcome those obstacles?)

Short timelines for creative thinking create an obstacle for coming up with ideas. Capacity in terms of how much work one can handle in any giving day or week and stunt the formation of ideas. Regular interruptions in an office setting. Overcoming them for me is easier when I flow through a few initial steps:

Slow pace of thoughts

Compartmentalize tasks and block out multi tasking

Focus on simplicity and clarity

If I am having trouble after that I tend to organize or clear my physical space.

Selling a commodity can kill creativity. Coffee is the second largest commodity in the world next to oil, which means there are only so many ways I can produce, market and sell a cup of coffee. I overcome this by personally investing in an idea’s development. Learning about every ingredient, understanding processes or crafts and becoming a creator or co-creator helps to overcome that obstacle and keeps driving idea through to a reality.

3. What process do you use to solve problems? (Describe the steps of your problem-solving process. Explain your journey from inspiration to implementation.)

Joshua Cohen’s Problem Solving Process:

Define Issue(s): Define the problem or problems and put them in their simplest terms.

Identify Root of problem(s): Get as far down as the problem goes.

Research Subjects: Understand everything about the subject of the problem as you can.

Systems & People: Understand all of the systems and people; touch points and roles

Explore Solutions: List all of the possible solutions

Best Solutions: Short list of the top 2 or more best solutions for each problem

Resources: Identify resources needed for solutions

Roadmap & Timeline: Establish a roadmap to successful fix, attach timelines

Implement Solution(s)

QA: Test and re test to make sure fixes stick

Philip Esteban,

R&D Chef at Consortium Holdings Restaurant Group

How do you generate ideas? (How, when, and where are you inspired? What inspires you? What obstacles do you face in coming up with a new idea and how do you overcome those obstacles?)

I come up with new ideas by continuing to learn. I find inspiration everywhere. I immerse myself in different cultures, travel as often as possible, talk with people who are different from myself and commit myself to learning new things. Inspiration can come from within yourself, looking back on your own life experiences. It can come from your community, surrounding yourself with people that push you out of your comfort zone, people that are pushing their own boundaries always drive me to push mine. It terms of the managerial side of my job I find it really important to try and understand the different ways people learn. Training new chefs and cooks can be long process and it really helps to be able to identify what approach will help them learn as fast as possible. I study a lot of different managing styles and read a lot to just better understand people, so I can communicate better and more efficiently.

There are always obstacles that get in the way both on the creative side and the managerial side of my work. When it comes to the creative part, some hurdles include cost limitations which is always a hard one to overcome when you are in love with your idea. I tend to think backwards when it comes to cost and let the budget dictate my next steps rather than coming up with a great idea just to later find out it’s unrealistic. Available resources is aways something to consider too. Maybe that means seasonal ingredients or a venue space. I like to think of these as creative challenges though. I accept the challenge that limited resources offer and end up having a lot of fun proving what I can do with what some would consider “limiting”.

2. What process do you use to solve problems? (Describe the steps of your problem-solving process. Explain your journey from inspiration to implementation.)

When I am solving problems my process is usually dictated by the amount of time a solution needs to be found and implemented. Sometimes I have to step in on the line and help out when we are short staffed. When a problem arises while we are in the middle of a dinner rush, I cant sit down and right it all out, I have to solve it on the spot. In this case I immediately consider what the problem is. Sometimes finding the real cause comes after solving it in their case. I then determine who is involved and who needs to be involved to solve this problem. I come up with a plan and depending on the nature of the problem, I’ll either delegate or do it myself. If time is not a major factor in the problem that needs to be solved I have more of a structured approach. I start by writing everything down. It helps me visualize what the problem is and what my next steps will be. I then talk to the people that are involved and the ones that need to be involved in solving the problem and carrying out the solution. I come up withe a few solutions, bring them to the team involved and then decide what one will best fit the situation. After the solution has been implemented I regularly check in with the team to see how it is being carried out and if any changes need to be made.

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