Social relationships are like a dance in which we must respond to the movements of others. If someone extends his hand, we must be attentive to shake it and if he shakes his head we must restructure our speech. Staying attentive to the signals that the others send is crucial for communication to be successful.
At least in theory. In practice, we often pay more attention to the ideas that cross our mind than to the words of our interlocutor. Many times we focus more on our expectations and what we want to happen than on what is actually happening. Thus each person ends up isolated in their bubble, the bridges of dialogue are burned, empathy disappears and conflicts arise. And everything seems to indicate that a large part of the “blame” lies with our predictive brain.
Brain mirage: seeing through our expectations
For a long time it was thought that our brain functioned as a machine dedicated to processing the information that comes to us through the senses. Classic studies carried out in the area of Neuroscience indicate that when we see someone perform an action, such as spreading butter on bread, the motor areas dedicated to carrying out the same action are activated in our brain due to mirror neurons.
This discovery led neuroscientists to propose that the flow of visual information follows a fairly “simple” route that goes from our eyes to the brain. However, now a group of researchers from the Dutch Institute of Neuroscience has discovered that this is not always the case.
In the real world, actions do not occur in isolation, but are part of predictable sequences to achieve an end goal. For example, if we spread butter on bread, we are likely to eat it later. Consequently, our perception of what others do depends not only on what we see, but also on what we expect to happen next. In other words, our expectations come into play.
The predictive brain: when our perspective “blinds” us
This team of neuroscientists analyzed the brain activity of a group of people while they watched videos. The interesting thing is that these were patients with epilepsy, which allowed them to obtain more reliable and direct results since they had electrodes implanted under the skull.
During the experiment, participants watched a video where someone performed different everyday actions, such as preparing breakfast and folding a shirt. The key was that some watched a video of a normal morning routine while others watched those same actions in a random order.
They all saw exactly the same actions in identical conditions, but their natural order was different. As a result, their brain’s response was too.
When the sequence was unpredictable and disorganized, a flow of “traditional” information occurred that went from the visual regions of the brain – to decode what the eye sees – to the parietal and premotor regions, which also control our actions.
However, when we observe the natural sequences of the others, our brain largely ignores the visual information and relies more on our predictions about what should happen next, based on our experiences and expectations.
In that case, information flowed from the premotor regions, which know how we prepare breakfast, to the parietal cortex, and activity in the visual cortex was suppressed. “It is as if they stopped seeing with their eyes and began to see what they themselves would have done,” these researchers explained. We simply suppress sensory information; that is, external visual stimuli.
In practice, our predictive brain does not “see” what the other person does, but rather assumes what they will do next. It anticipates events and uses our knowledge to predict the action that will occur. This tells us that the brain does not limit itself to reacting to the information that comes through the senses, but rather works in a predictive manner, predicting what will happen next.
Therefore, it is as if from a certain point we see the world from the inside out, instead of from the outside in, as we usually think. Obviously, if what we see contradicts what we expect, dissonance occurs and the brain is forced to restructure its prediction, making us more aware of what is happening.
How to use this double-edged sword well?
The ability to anticipate what will happen is important. In fact, it is what allows us to plan for the future, outline projects and anticipate problems. That our brain is one step ahead of reality allows us to detect possible threats and avoid dangers. It also helps us anticipate the needs of the others to, for example, help an old woman cross the street.
However, this anticipatory capacity can become a double-edged sword if we do not know how to use it properly. Paying too much attention to our expectations, having preconceived ideas, and becoming too absorbed in our thoughts can cause us to lose touch with reality. By failing to take note of what is happening around us, we lose connection with others and begin to act in a maladaptive manner, which will inevitably become a source of problems and conflicts.
Therefore, it is important that we are aware of the tendencies of our predictive brain, especially in interpersonal relationships. We must ask ourselves if we are taking too many things for granted or if we are reacting more to what we expect to happen than to what is really happening.
Being fully present involves continually recalibrating our expectations of the situation in order to connect from a deeper level that truly allows us to see the other, through their eyes, not our own.
Source:
Qin, C. et. Al. (2023) Predictability alters information flow during action observation in human electrocorticographic activity. Cell Reports; 42 (11): 113432.
