It is a base belief in mainstream science that our brain is a receptor of information, meaning that observations are made and interpreted in a reactive manner. That we observe what is in front of us objectively and then appropriately process that reality.
Those in the social sciences had a sneaking suspicion that this wasn’t quite true and that somehow our perceptive lenses altered reality. Stephen Covey said, “We see the world, not as it is, but as we are──or, as we are conditioned to see it.” Growing up in an abusive household normalizes aggressive and violent behaviour and thus makes it less noticeable. Being raised by a narcissist makes the importance of the self hugely diminished and hence less focal. And of course my favourite “wood eye” parable, which makes it seem like everyone is focused on your vulnerabilities simply because you are too. Your upbringing and your repeated experience markedly change your psychology and the resulting adaptations are carried long past their relevance or usefulness.
A new study has augmented this understanding quite profoundly. Rather than our ‘psychology’ being the interpretative lens, it is now understand that the brain takes sensory information and supplements it with what it expects to see. According to the study, the brain combines what is real with what is expected (based on past memories from the occipital cortex) and in effect creates an “average” of reality and expectation.
This may seem underwhelming, however this new paradigm means that the brain is not a passive tool for interpretation, but rather it is the arbiter of reality for each individual. Your past experiences and how you have internalized them determine your future experiences. What you see, what you hear, what you smell, what you feel, are all concoctions of your physical mind as well as your psychology. And if your past experiences have included long term exposure to harsh environments, repeated trauma, difficult personalities, or other challenging life circumstances, those experiences will paint your future experiences to ignore harm, accept dysfunction, and even seek out abuse.
I try to avoid prescription in my blogs, but this does raise the question of what ought to be done given this very important finding. The answers will be difficult for a species hellbent on increasing dysfunction, isolation, and discord. We need to better protect individuals of all ages from harm, particularly from harmful parents and households. How this is achieved is very complex and controversial. And if an individual is imbued with reality-shaping adaptations, they need a form a therapy that assertively smashes their entire belief system and helps to reconstruct it in a manner that avoids permeation of distorted thoughts. Not an easy thing since it really needs to come from someone who spends an inordinate amount of time with that person.
Our brains are not reactive, passive tools. They are what determine every experience we have forever. Our social and educational systems ought to understand the profound importance of training the mind, not merely by filling it with knowledge, but by helping it to interpret and then define reality for a lifetime of experiences.
