Episode 40: Cognitive Biases and Emotional Reactions: with Dr Norman Farb
Episode 40 of M3CS’s Contemplative Science Podcast saw Dr Norman Farb come on to the show to talk about acceptance, wisdom, confidence - and their role in improving our capacity for emotional regulation.
For the full podcast, check out the episode here.
In this episode, we cover...
Emotional regulation - updating models of self, world and probable future.
Links to contemplative training: recognising the fabricated nature of external stimuli.
Habitual patterns of self-reference and how they relate to well being
Dr Norman Farb is an associate professor at University of Toronto. An expert in the social neuroscience of the self and human emotion, his research focuses on how cognitive biases shape emotional reactions that determine wellbeing.
Here are some of the key insights from the conversation...
Internalised knowledge of ourselves creates habitual patterns of self-reference.
”Like Daniel Dennett: we have this narrative gravity that binds our experiences together that form what we know about ourselves at any point in time... and part of why it's so accessible is: they're rehearsed over and over again. And the way the human brain works is whatever you rehearse moves through a period of being interesting and engaging and eventually it gets automatised. And so as soon as the knowledge just shows up for you when prompted - that's a habitual pattern of self-reference or self-evaluation.”
Becoming comfortable with uncertainty develops certainty in all kinds of situations.
”People will pay a lot to find a way to change and it’s so simple but it’s effortful... it’s by definition unpredictable. We don’t like that because all of our certainty comes from making accurate predictions. But there’s a meta-certainty that can evolve around your ability to benefit from being exposed to uncertainty.”
The science is showing that confidence is key.
”You don't have to be the world's best emotional regulator... it would be helpful to be one of the world's most confident emotional regulators in all kinds of world situations. That's what some of our data is starting to tell us.”
The best place to find Norman is here.
See you next week!
