Why people r dumb, and what science says you can do about it.

People be dumb sometimes. Amirite? ??

Even "intelligent", "professional", and "influential" people. Dumb. ????

You know, people like me, and you. Fancy, charming folks with fantastic hair and abs of steel. Even we can be really, really dumb. ??♀?

Like the time I ran straight into a closed sliding glass door AFTER I SAW SOMEONE CLOSE IT. A whole party of people watched from the other side of the door as I did something like this at sprinting speed:

except it was NOT cute... it was mortifying and ended up with tissue stuffed up my nostrils to stop a nosebleed. ?? REALLY DUMB.

The kicker was, I KNEW the door was closed, but I still ran into it. ??♀?

If only dumbness ended at a case for a nose job. But it doesn't.

We're all chronically doing dumb stuff. By dumb stuff, I mean illogical stuff that is pretty obviously going to end up giving us an outcome that is NOT what we wanted.

And some of that dumb stuff has much harsher consequences than embarrassment or a nose bleed.

Like, globally and personally harsh consequences.

How R We Dumb?

Here are a few painful examples of dumb in the wild:

?? Climate Change:

? Despite overwhelming scientific consensus, many people refuse to accept climate change due to cognitive biases. They might view climate change as a threat to their political or economic beliefs and thus reject the evidence.

?? Conspiracy Theories:

? Conspiracy theories thrive on cognitive biases. People believe them because they offer simple explanations for complex events, reducing uncertainty and anxiety. Logical arguments against these theories often fail, because the belief wasn't formed through logic in the first place.

?? Personal Health Issues:

? Even when it comes to people's own health, where you'd think the survival instinct would kick in and drive them toward better behaviors, individuals regularly ignore logical solutions to their problems due to cognitive biases.

Someone experiencing chronic pain might avoid seeking medical help because they believe home remedies are sufficient, despite (daily, excruciatingly painful) evidence to the contrary. This might be due to the confirmation bias, where individuals favor information that supports their preexisting beliefs and dismiss evidence to the contrary (datadot) (CDC).

Another, for instance: a significant portion of the global population does not adhere to prescribed medical treatments. Noncompliance rates for chronic disease management are alarmingly high, contributing to worsened health outcomes and increased healthcare costs. Cognitive dissonance plays a role here, as individuals downplay the seriousness of their condition to avoid the discomfort associated with acknowledging their need for treatment (World Health Organization (WHO)) (World Health Organization (WHO)).

And, despite knowing the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, many people fail to adopt behaviors like regular exercise and balanced diets. The National Health Interview Survey highlights that a large percentage of adults do not engage in sufficient physical activity, even though they are aware of its importance for preventing diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. This can be attributed to the status quo bias, where people prefer to keep things as they are rather than change their habits (CDC).

Our inability to think logically and avoid making dumb choices is a serious problem for everyone.

The Motivation, Education, Emotion Myth:

I include the health examples above to illustrate the fact that bad decision-making and dumb behavior isn't due to a lack of motivation, education or emotion. It is retty clear that anyone facing illness or death is likely to be motivated, educated (at least by their doctors) and emotionally compelled to take logical steps to improve their chances.

If this claim goes against your gut instinct, believe me, I know how you feel. I thought that if I could just get people motivated, educated and emotionally involved, I could help them make positive change, and help them to stop being dumb.

My first Guinea pig was myself. I wanted (needed) to improve my communication skills, performance, sustainability, health, and impact.

So, I tried everything to improve my motivation, from goal setting to berating myself silly when I failed. I educated myself by reading hundreds of books and taking tons of courses, getting mentors, and even got certified in skills from business planning to wellness techniques to social innovation. I cranked up my emotions to nervous-breakdown levels.

But I failed before I ever got to Guinea pig #2: other people.

I was helplessly dumb a lot of the time, especially when it came to making simple daily choices to improve my life.

Because the common sense approaches to overcoming dumb don't work on their own.

Pop psychology memes have oversimplified and skewed the truth a bit, giving folks the impression that blocks to logical decision-making are rooted in the person's motivations (and that to cure it you need to get them motivated to change), the level of education that person has (they must have more facts) or the level of emotion that person has (make them care enough to cry about it).

But how many times have you been motivated to make the logical decision, known what you need to do, and felt emotionally invested, but just didn't do it?

Everyone makes some dumb choices daily when it comes to eating dumb stuff, spending money on dumb stuff, watching dumb stuff, saying dumb stuff, buying dumb stuff, etc.

If, like in the case of health issues, the threat of pain, illness and death can't make people do the logical thing, then what can?

To understand what is going on, we need to get rid of the outdated idea that we make decisions based on logic at all.

The Logic Myth

Human beings do not develop logical thinking until later in life. Think late 20s, or for some, even later. The development of logic is part of the maturation of the brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for higher-order thinking and decision-making. However, even when fully developed, logical reasoning is still not the primary function of the brain (ScienceDaily) (Neuroscience News).

Logic simply isn't the basis of our brain function. Logic is a newer function of the brain, one that hasn't fully developed, and it doesn't work all that well all the time.

We might argue that for some people, it doesn't work that well at all. (So, me then?)

Illogical thinking is NORMAL for human beings, even though most of us wrongly believe that we are, by nature or training, logical thinkers. This misguided notion sets us up for the wrong expectation, and then disappointment, mistakes and frustration.

My friend Fwangmun Oscar Danladi shared this lovely quote, attributed to Wrene Davis:

?? "You can't logic someone out of something they didn't logic themselves into."

OMG. So true. And so ANNOYING!

This quote captures a fundamental truth about human behavior: When it comes to beliefs and actions, logic (usually) takes a backseat to quirks in our brains' wiring, processes, emotions and cognitive biases.

This is really frustrating to deal with, especially when you are trying to help humans change behavior toward what seems like obviously better outcomes.

Why can't people just do the thing that makes sense?

Because we're not built to.

Just remember, most of the things we believe, that we identify with, that we cling to, and that trigger us to take action, aren't based on logic, or facts, or reality.

Here's why:

?? The Science:

A simple example of one of hte many quirks of the human brain is cognitive bias. Cognitive biases are mental shortcuts that help us process information quickly but often lead us astray. There are literally hundreds of these biases that impact our perception of reality and our ability to make good decisions and carry them through:

Confirmation Bias:

? We seek out information that confirms our existing beliefs and ignore contradictory evidence. For example, someone who believes in a conspiracy theory will only focus on evidence that supports their view, dismissing all other facts.

Cognitive Dissonance:

? We experience discomfort when faced with information that contradicts our beliefs. To reduce this discomfort, we rationalize or dismiss the new information. A person who denies climate change may experience dissonance when presented with scientific evidence, leading them to reject it outright.

Backfire Effect:

? Presenting evidence against someone's beliefs can actually strengthen their original stance. This occurs because the person feels their identity is under attack and doubles down on their beliefs.

We're just not wired for logical thinking or behaviors.

For example:

The Argumentative Theory of Reasoning: Dan Sperber and Hugo Mercier propose that reasoning evolved not to seek truth, but to win arguments. This theory suggests that our reasoning abilities are more about convincing others and ourselves of our viewpoints, rather than objective analysis. This helps explain why people are good at spotting flaws in others' arguments but often fail to see the flaws in their own (Psychology Today).

Role of Emotions: Emotions significantly influence our decisions. The brain's emotional centers, like the amygdala, often drive our responses before the logical centers can even process the information. This interplay can lead to decisions that are not based on logic but on emotional reactions to stimuli (ScienceDaily).

Social and Evolutionary Influences: Human reasoning is deeply rooted in social contexts. Our ancestors evolved in environments where quick, decisive action based on social cues was crucial for survival. Logical reasoning, which is slow and deliberate, was less advantageous in these contexts. As a result, our brains are wired to prioritize social and emotional information over logical analysis (Neuroscience News) (Psychology Today).

There is a lot of evidence that can help us understand WHY we're dumb.

But sadly, we're stuck with the outcomes of each other's dumb behavior, even if the outcomes are, well, really bad.

So what can you do about dumb?

How can you help yourself and others overcome these moments of "derp" and make better choices?

Undoing Dumb

Here is a plan to "undo dumb" after it happens, and maybe avoid some of it before it happens.

I can attest to the fact that these evidence-based techniques actually do work statistically better than what most of us do (react, argue, shame/blame, try to reason with people, etc...). Try them!

1) Build Empathy:

? Understand that people's beliefs (even inaccurate ones) are tied to their identities. Approach conversations with empathy rather than confrontation.

2) Use Storytelling:

? Present information through relatable stories rather than pure logic. Stories can bypass cognitive biases and connect on an emotional level.

3) Encourage Critical Thinking:

? Promote a culture of curiosity and critical thinking. Teach and learn about cognitive bias and distortion. Ask questions that lead people to reflect on their beliefs without feeling attacked.

4) Highlight Common Ground:

? Find areas of agreement and build on them. This creates a foundation of trust and openness to new ideas.

5) Expect and Plan for Dumb:

? When we adjust our expectations and sense of identity to align with the truth, we can more easily develop the flexibility of response necessary to help ourselves get better outcomes.

• Expect dumb. We're all going to be dumb more often than we realize. Take the sting and the stigma out of it, so you and others can stay engaged in solutions without cowering from embarrassment or lighting up in frustration.
• Plan for dumb behaviors and reactions. Don't be caught off-guard when it happens. Prepare to walk yourself and others through steps to think and behave more logically when necessary.

Remember: Offering and arguing facts, logical reasoning, shaming, judgement and pleading do NOT really result in people being less dumb. We're battling biology here. Punching it in the face (figuratively or literally) won't make it smarter.

Accept that dumb is ubiquitous. It impacts everyone, from your favorite influencers, to national leaders, and even your wise old grandmother.

We're not going to be able to eliminate it until we can figure out how to improve our brains. But we CAN help empower ourselves and others to fight back against dumb, and reduce its impact by understanding how the brain is vulnerable to being dumb.

Changing minds and empowering each other to rise to the challenges we face is not about presenting facts or arguing until the other party concedes; it's about understanding the human psyche and working within its frameworks.

By acknowledging cognitive biases and illogical thinking are something we ALL suffer from, we can better navigate conversations and foster those changes we want to see.

I need you all on my side in the battle against dumb, because I need people to stop me from doing dumb stuff sometimes, too. So let's look out for each other.

Now, I'll make my classy exit.

Mahalo,

Amber Jade

#Changemaking #SocialSkills #Empathy #EmotionalIntelligence #Neuroscience #BehavioralScience #CognitiveBias #ClimateChange #ConspiracyTheories #CriticalThinking