rationalthought

I’m afraid for the future of our country. I’m afraid because I believe that the discipline of thinking before we act – in every circumstance and level of society -- is rapidly disappearing.  In its place, we are witnessing a whole host of alternatives. It is like thousands of years of human development has been shrugged to the side, and a new ethic of rushing to conclusions with little objective basis has replaced it.  We are regressing to the Middle Ages.

Welcome to the Social-Engineer Podcast: The Doctor Is In Series - where we will discuss understandings and developments in the field of psychology.

In today’s episode, Chris and Abbie are discussing: The Illusion of Rational Thought. We will discuss the positives and negatives of rational decision making, as well as the role our emotions play in our decision making processes. [March 6, 2023]

00:00 - Intro

00:22 - Dr. Abbie Maroño Intro

01:21 - Intro Links

-          Tuxcare – tuxcare.com

-          Social-Engineer.com - http://www.social-engineer.com/

-          Managed Voice Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/vishing-service/

-          Managed Email Phishing - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/se-phishing-service/

-          Adversarial Simulations - https://www.social-engineer.com/services/social-engineering-penetration-test/

-          Social-Engineer channel on SLACK - https://social-engineering-hq.slack.com/ssb

-          CLUTCH - http://www.pro-rock.com/

-          innocentlivesfoundation.org - http://www.innocentlivesfoundation.org/                                               

06:00 - The Topic of the Day: The Illusion of Rational Thinking

08:18 - The Difference "Framing" Makes

12:53 - Why "FREE" Isn't Free

17:49 - Western Influence

20:02 - Having More, Feeling Less

22:00 - Analysis Paralysis

28:33 - Embodied Cognition

30:21 - You're Getting Warmer

33:59 - Excitation Transfer Theory

35:13 - Let the Countdown Begin

39:02 - Emotional Responses

42:31 - Incidental Emotions

45:45 - Wrap Up

-          www.social-engineer.com

-          www.innocentlivesfoundation.org

48:01 - Outro

Find us online:

-          Twitter: https://twitter.com/abbiejmarono

-          LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dr-abbie-maroño-phd-35ab2611a

-          Twitter: https://twitter.com/humanhacker

-          LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/christopherhadnagy

References:

Mano, H. (1990). Emotional states and decision making. ACR North American Advances.

DellaVigna, S. (2009). Psychology and economics: Evidence from the field. Journal of Economic literature, 47(2), 315-372.

Nickerson, R. S. (1998). Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. Review of general psychology, 2(2), 175-220.

Klein, N. H., & Oglethorpe, J. E. (1987). Cognitive reference points in consumer decision making. ACR North American Advances.

Koop, G. J., & Johnson, J. G. (2012). The use of multiple reference points in risky decision making. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 25(1), 49-62.

Seiler, M. J., Seiler, V. L., & Lane, M. A. (2012). Mental accounting and false reference points in real estate investment decision making. Journal of Behavioral finance, 13(1), 17-26.

Bottom, W. P., & Studt, A. (1993). Framing effects and the distributive aspects of integrative bargaining. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 56, 459–474

So, J., Achar, C., Han, D., Agrawal, N., Duhachek, A., & Maheswaran, D. (2015). The psychology of appraisal: Specific emotions and decision-making. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 25(3), 359-371.

Kristensen, H., & Ga¨ rling, T. (1997). Anchor points, reference points, and counteroffers in negotiations. Manuscript submitted for publication.

Neale, M. A., Huber, V. L., & Northcraft, G. B. (1987). The framing of negotiations: Contextual versus task frames. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 39, 228–241

Broniarczyk, Susan M., Hoyer, Wayne D., & McAlister, Leigh (1998). Consumers' perceptions of the assortment offered in a grocery category: The impact of item reduction. Journal of Marketing Research, 35(May), 166–176.

Carpenter, Gregory S., & Nakamoto, Kent (1989). Consumer preference formation and pioneering advantage. Journal of Marketing Research, 26(August), 285–298

Andrade, E. B., & Ariely, D. (2009). The enduring impact of transient emotions on decision making. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 109(1), 1-8.

Foglia, L., & Wilson, R. A. (2013). Embodied cognition. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science, 4(3), 319-325.

Wilson, A. D., & Golonka, S. (2013). Embodied cognition is not what you think it is. Frontiers in psychology, 4, 58.

Wilson, M. (2002). Six views of embodied cognition. Psychonomic bulletin & review, 9, 625-636.

Inagaki, T. K., & Eisenberger, N. I. (2013). Shared neural mechanisms underlying social warmth and physical warmth. Psychological science, 24(11), 2272-2280.

Episode 1: The Animal That Can Think

The human being is the only creature that is known to be able to think rational thought. And while as a species, we literally had less than a one in a million chance to survive, because of it, we beat the odds and became the most dominant life form on the planet. But tragically, this double-edge sword might also be the cause our own extinction. What’s in our favor?

Transcript:

          We’ve each been born with a most amazing gift and how well we learn how to use it will determine how satisfied we’ll be in this life. We have each been given a human brain along with its conscious awareness. And a good case can be made that of all the trillions of biological innovations that have taken place on Earth in the 3.5 billion years since life first appeared, the human brain is the single greatest masterpiece ever created by nature. And we each have one of our own.

          Now that’s a pretty big thing statement. So, let’s step back a little and put this incredible gift of ours into a larger perspective

          The truth is, Earth can be a really tough place to live. So far, over five billion species have tried it and about 99 percent of them have failed, becoming extinct for one reason or another. They came. They stayed a while and then vanished. Gone for good.

          Yet somehow, we human beings have been able to survive, which is nothing short of a miracle. Given our relatively puny bodies with our lowly position on the food chain, natural selection should have wiped us out thousands of years ago. We’re not the biggest. We’re not the strongest. We’re far from the fastest. Compared to sea creatures, we’re pathetic swimmers and we can’t fly at all. And when it comes to reproduction, our babies are born helpless, it takes them years to get to where they can survive on their own and our overall offspring statistics are pretty weak.  

           So, with survival of the fittest, we should have been long gone by now. And indeed, we would have been just one more unknown creature that came and went, except for this one small feature that was bestowed upon us by nature. We were born with this incredibly powerful brain. And although we’re clearly outmatched on every other level, this one small organ, with its endless creativity, has given us an overwhelming advantage over the competition.

          At first glance, it doesn’t appear to be much. About the size of an average cantaloupe, it’s less than 100 cubic inches and weighs only about three pounds. But of all the biological evolution that has manifested on Earth since the appearance of the microbe, with its 100 billion neurons seamlessly wired for endless creativity, it’s in a class all by itself.     

          With just its ability to invent tools, starting with primitive flint rock knives, it altered the survival equation, and soon we were at the very top of the food chain. But it did much more than that. With its boundless innovation, we didn’t just survive, we became the dominant creature on Earth, radically transforming the entire planet. 

Now, whether this has been a positive or negative development remains to be seen. On the one hand, we’ve come so far that we have it in our power to create a harmonious, interdependent world that can support everyone, almost a heaven on earth. The natural resources are certainly here and in great abundance.

But on the other hand, we could be in the midst of causing an unthinkable catastrophe. We might take the very instrument that helped us survive in the first place and misuse it to become the first species in history to actually be the cause of its own extinction. The irony of such ignorance is too tragic to even consider.

Obviously, the outcome of nature’s great experiment – “What becomes of an animal that can think?” is still in question. But basically, it all depends on how the animal chooses to think. Which brings up another astounding fact about our brain. Not only do we each have a mind of our own, we’ve also been born with the innate power to be able to decide how we want to use it. Whether it seems like it or not, we actually do get to make our own inner choices and the fact is, they really matter.  And they matter far more than we know.  

So, the big question becomes - How can we use our intelligence in the best way possible, both for our own happiness and well-being, as well as for those close to us and for the world at large?

Well, when it comes to learning how to use our awareness, the very first thing to do is to simply become aware of it. To have an incredible awareness and to be largely unaware of its magnificent abilities would be a terrible shame, but that’s where many of us end up.  So, let’s take a quick look at some basics.

Essentially, we live in two worlds – an outer world and an inner world. Our outer world revolves around the external circumstance we find ourselves in, this endlessly changing drama filled with people, places and things. It can have hundreds of moving parts. But our inner world is very different. In that realm, there are only two things happening and they’re always happening.  We’re always breathing and we always have an awareness of some kind. This constant factor stays that way from birth ‘til death.

Now, with our awareness, as infants, we begin with our focus on our inner world and gradually blend it with the outer. In our early years, our consciousness is vibrantly alive, always growing and expanding with a joyful sense of wonder. But then, for the most part, by the time we reach a certain age, we become focused almost exclusively on the outer world. Losing touch with our inner awareness, we start running on automatic, impulsively reacting to an endless stream of external happenstances. It can get overwhelming and sometimes you feel like the roller ball in a pinball machine constantly rebounding from one jarring bumper to another. But whatever it is that we may be aware of, the simple fact is, we’re always aware of something. Awake or dreaming, our awareness is always on. It never stops.

But beneath it all, something barely noticeable is also taking place. We’re always breathing. And our breath brings us the power of life which animates our entire being. This power, which is the most basic part of our lives, is at the very core of our intelligence and connecting with it can play a transformative role in improving our lives.  

The first thing to understand about this breath of ours, which we take basically for granted, is that it is, by definition, a miracle. In the dictionary, a miracle is defined as “a welcomed event which takes place for reasons not explicable by natural or scientific laws,” which fits the breath perfectly. Afterall, it has no discernable power source. There’s no plug, battery pack or solar panel, nothing. Still, even though it defies the basic laws of physics, it goes on and on.

And it’s running completely by itself. We have nothing to do with it. Wide awake or totally unconscious, ecstatically happy or morbidly depressed, with no conscious effort on our part, we’re still breathing. And not only that, we have no control over it at all. We can hold our breath for a very short period time, but then we just have to breathe. It’s so essential that if we’re forced to go without it, in a just few minutes we’re seriously brain damaged, and then, moments later, we’re dead.  

          So, to sum it up, two things are always happening within us at the same time – we’re always breathing and we always have an awareness of some kind. Now there’s a critical distinction between the two. One is completely dependent upon the other. We have our awareness because we are breathing. But we’re not breathing because we have our awareness.  Our awareness has nothing to do with our breath. But our breath has everything to do with our awareness. And a little-known fact is that connecting our awareness to our breath, even to a small degree, can have a majorly beneficial impact on our lives. 

          To help illustrate this, let’s use our imagination, which is another amazingly ingenious element of our intelligence. Imagine you’re in a restaurant and all of a sudden, there’s a crashing noise and the ceiling caves in, blocking the front door. You hear a disturbing hissing sound and the smell of natural gas starts to fill the room.  The manager comes bursting in with a large sledge hammer and in a panic, says there was a gas explosion in the kitchen and everyone must get out, but the back door has also been blocked.  

          Then, with the sledge hammer, he starts slamming the glass of the large picture window that leads outside. The gas smell is getting worse and soon, you can hardly breathe. You’re almost ready to pass out when the manager finally smashes through the window and along with everyone else, you stumble your way outside, through the smashed glass into the open air.

          As you’re gasping for breath, trying to re-oxygenate yourself, an EMS team shows up. After a while, they examine you and tell you that thankfully, you’ve suffered no harm and you can just go home. You’ll be fine. 

          You get over the trauma and things become stable over the next few days. Of course, you experience profound gratitude for your narrow escape from death, along with all the other positive feelings that accompany it.  But as you get back into normal life something very powerful is going to happen to you.

          At some point, in the middle of an ordinary moment, you are going to take an ordinary breath and something extraordinary is going to happen. You are going to feel how wonderful it is just to be able to breathe and you’re going to feel incredibly grateful for what you used to take for granted. By connecting with the real pleasure of breathing, you will have found the extraordinary within the ordinary. Your consciousness will grow into the next level, in a certain way, you’ll never be quite the same again, and the change will be for good.  

          Now we don’t need to encounter a near-catastrophe to be able to grasp the deeper meanings behind this imaginary tale. Our intelligence has its own source of wisdom and we can get to this lofty summit of understanding on our own if we want.  

          As a takeaway, you might want to play around with the idea of feeling how precious it really is to be able to breath. Stop and feel your breath and get in touch with the fact that you are not in control of it, that it is coming and going on its own, and that every single part of your life is completely dependent upon its power.

          This kind of understanding can bring real gratitude and humility into your life, which is always a good thing. Then see if you can feel the subtle, but distinct pleasure that accompanies the act of breathing. It’s really not hard to do at all. Every little baby gets blissed out by their breath all day long. You may want to give it a try and see what happens.      

          In the coming podcasts, we’re going to offer you small, easy changes of focus like this. They’re all deceptively simple, but there’s a lot of power wrapped up in them. Well, that’s it for now. Keep your eyes, mind and heart opened and let’s get together again in the next episode!