Friday, June 12, 2020

Empathy, Friends, and Neuroscience

Have you ever met someone and, in just a short while, feel you have met a kindred spirit?

Often I will think "Hmm... I guess people are more similar than they are different!"  which is a positive take on it, I think.

However, how often have we had this experience and then nothing really comes of it?  Maybe, in the conversation, in the moment, there is a level of empathy and connection that is not actually real but simply the result of our mirror neurons.

Mirror neurons are a poorly understood system of neurons that fire in sympathy of an observed action.  It is thought that it help us learn and to have empathy for others.

It occurs to me that this natural neural reaction may lead us to feel that the other person really 'gets' us even if there really is no deep connection.  I think charismatic people are tapping into this biological mechanism to make us feel they are speaking to us in a special, individual way.

When you see someone smiling, you become happier.  Sometime I smile at people just to spread happiness.  Modeling the behavior you want to see is one of the best parenting (or teaching) techniques.

Tapping into those mirror neurons...

The Neuroscience of Vitality, Tip 2: Mirror Neurons | Psychology Today


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