Have you ever been on your way home and wondered whether you had lock your front door or turn off the light? You probably did it automatically, like many other things we do every day. However, you may not be able to get rid of the doubt for much of the day.
The truth is that we function largely thanks to these automatisms, habits that we have acquired and that we carry out without thinking, to the point that they become actions so natural that we practically do not notice them. But what happens when we pay more attention to them?
Centipede Syndrome
“One day, a butterfly came across a centipede. She had never seen such an animal before, so she became very curious to know how it could move its legs in such a coordinated way.
– Centipede, how do you manage to move your feet with such precision?
The centipede had never thought about it, he just did it, it was as natural as breathing.
However, he paused to reflect on his “amazing” ability.
After a while, and after much thought, he discovered that he could no longer move.“
In “The History of the Human Mind”, experimental psychologist Nicholas Humphrey noted that when we learn certain tasks, from tying our shoes to riding a bike, they become a second nature. As a result, the mind no longer needs to focus on its mechanisms, and if it does, that effort can interfere with the ability to perform the necessary movements. This phenomenon is known as Humphrey’s law, the centipede’s dilemma, or the centipede syndrome.
In practice, when we turn things around, something that we usually do automatically, our performance is likely to suffer or we may even run the risk of becoming paralyzed. And this applies not only to physical habits, but also to mental automatisms.
Overthinking things
The philosopher Karl Popper also referred to the centipede syndrome. He told the story of the conductor and violinist Adolf Busch and the violinist Bronislaw Huberman. Busch had founded a legendary quartet bearing his name, whose recordings of Beethoven’s “Last String Quartets” were revered.
Huberman wanted to know the secret, so he asked Busch how he played a certain passage from Beethoven’s violin concerto. Huberman told him it was actually very simple, but when he tried to show him how to do it, he found that he could no longer play it properly.
In psychology, the centipede effect is known as hyperreflection and refers to an excessive awareness of one’s own behavior, to the point that it interferes with our performance, whether in social interactions or in any other activity that involves the skills we put under scrutiny. And it is a phenomenon that we must take into account in times when everything seems to encourage us to look inside ourselves and optimize every fiber of our being.
The risk of becoming too self-absorbed
Dostoevsky wrote, “I swear that being too conscious is a disease, a real disease.” The idea that reflective consciousness is accompanied by a certain irritation, disturbance, and even alienation is a pervasive theme in the history of literature and philosophy.
Viktor Frankl was one of the first psychologists to analyse hyperreflection, describing it as excessive self-monitoring and concern for performance and image. It occurs when, for example, we focus on moving our arms and legs correctly while swimming, but also when we pay too much attention to a stain on our clothes while giving a speech or worry about not being able to fall asleep.
According to Frankl, that is the most direct recipe for failure because to function well, we only have to focus our attention on what our conscience demands and let the rest follow its natural course.
Other psychologists think that hyperreflection could be much worse. Understood as a heightened self-awareness in which we disengage from normal ways of relating to nature and society, we take ourselves as our own object, which could become a breeding ground for mental disorders.
In fact, many mental disorders, from depression and anxiety to psychosis, are linked to an increase in self-observation and self-evaluation. A narrowing of attention to oneself occurs and thinking takes a retrograde turn towards what has already been done or happened. From this point vicious circles of self-observation and alienation arise.
The necessary balance
The idea of the centipede effect actually dates back to the ancient Sanskrit scriptures of Vedanta, one of the philosophical schools of Hinduism, according to which the knower cannot be known and the seer cannot be seen.
Hyperreflection should not be confused with introspection and metacognition. Indeed, it is important to look within to understand ourselves better, but everything has a limit. Obsessions, chronic worries and anxieties arise or are fueled by this excessive focus on ourselves.
Just as it is important to know ourselves, it is also important to understand that we are not the center of the universe. We must maintain a balance between the external and the internal. Focusing excessively on ourselves can cause us to lose sight of the circumstances, limiting our ability to respond adaptively.
Likewise, questioning everything, which is commonly known as splitting hairs, can lead us into a cognitive labyrinth with no way out, full of doubts that will rob us of the confidence to move forward. There is a time to think and a time to act. A time to look within and another to look outside.
If we spend too much time doubting and questioning, we are likely to fall into analysis paralysis that prevents us from moving forward. As with everything in life, the key lies in balance.
References:
Fuchs, T. (2018) Thinking Too Much. The Psychopathy of Hyperreflexivity. Duquesne Scholarship Collection Phenomenology: Center Annual Symposium.
Humphrey, N. (2012) Una Historia De La Mente. Gedisa: Barcelona.
Pérez-Álvarez, M. (2008) Hyperreflexivity as a condition of mental disorder: A clinical and historical perspective. Psicothema; 20(2): 181-187.
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