Why employees (and your kids) sometimes lose the plot
David Rock continues his excellent explanation of his model for understanding how your brain can function better at work. His SCARF model includes easy-to-understand neuroscience so you can be at the top of your game. S = Status, C = Certainty, R = Relatedness — covered in some of his previous posts. Check out his November 8th post — A = Autonomy:
This is the fourth in a series of five posts about the big drivers of threat and reward in the brain. So far I have posted about status, certainty and relatedness. This week let’s explore the issue of autonomy. Autonomy is a feeling of having choices. This feeling turns out to be deeply upsetting when taken away from us.
Teen angst is not universal
According to Dr. Robert Epstein, teenagers in western cultures have fewer choices than a felon in prison. They can’t drink, vote, have sex, marry, or choose where they go. I am not saying teens should be given total autonomy, they would probably make some pretty bad decisions. Yet I think some societies have gone overboard with control. (Note that the ‘terrible teens’ is not a biological necessity, as many cultures don’t experience this phenomenon.) In the US we have one of the older drinking ages worldwide – hundreds of countries allow drinking at 16 or 18. In Italy you can drink at any age. I was recently in a town square with 2,000 young people in Italy, at the University I teach at. There were live bands and dozens of bars in the square. In many countries this would be a recipe for violence, yet here I felt totally safe – people were controlling their drinking, yes even 17 year olds.
A sense of autonomy is not a ‘nice to have’
Autonomy is not just something that teens crave, a sense of autonomy is a big driver of reward or threat at all ages. Steve Maier at the university of Boulder says that the degree of control that organisms exert over something, determines whether or not the stressor alters an organism’s functioning. His findings indicate that only uncontrollable stress cause damaging effects. Uncontrollable stress can be destructive, whereas the same stress that feels escapable is less destructive, significantly so.Steven Dworkin, at the University of North Carolina, studies the way rats are affected by drugs. In one study, a rat gives itself cocainedirectly into the brain by pressing a lever. The rat eventually dies from lack of food and sleep. Yet when a second rat gets cocaine at the same time as the first, but not of its own volition, it dies much faster. The difference is a perception of control (or so scientists think, the rats don’t say much.)And there’s more. A study of British Civil Servants found that low-level, non-smoking employees had more health problems than senior executives. This doesn’t make sense intuitively, as senior executives experience a lot of stress. A perception of choice may be more important than diet and other factors for health. Many people report “work life balance” as the reason for starting their own business. Yet small business owners often work more hours, for less money, than in corporate life. The difference? Being able to make one’s own choices. Another study found that the number of deaths was significantly reduced in a retirement home compared to a control group when people were given three additional choices about their environment.
Amy Arnsten studies the effects of limbic system arousal on prefrontal cortex functioning. She summarized the importance of a sense of control for the brain during an interview filmed at her lab at Yale. “The loss of prefrontal function only occurs when we feel out of control. It’s the prefrontal cortex itself that is determining if we are in control or not. Even if we have the illusion that we are in control, our cognitive functions are preserved.” This perception of being in control is a major driver of behavior.
Read the rest of this excellent article HERE at Psychology Today.
AUTHOR CREDIT: David Rock
Are you on Facebook? If you enjoy the articles and posts here on Rewire Your Brain For Love, you’ll probably enjoy my Facebook page, with even more tips to support your mindfulness meditation practice.
Speak Your Mind!