We will do a quick review before we get into the content of this week s lecture.

Transcription

1 We will do a quick review before we get into the content of this week s lecture.

2 Brain function is modular: specialized and localized, different areas of the brain are responsible for different functions. Two hemispheres. Almost alike, with important differences, most importantly, they are like two separate minds that work together. Plastic: always evolving in the face of new experience. There is one unique and localized part of our brain -- a module -- that takes input from other areas of the brain turns it into a story. The interpreter receives the results of the computations of other modules, but it does not receive the information that there are multitudes of modules or how they work. It s truthy. It aims for coherence rather than correspondence.

3 The interpreter module is much like the White House s Press Secretary. Useful metaphor because it emphasizes how the interpreter module uses after-the-fact reasoning. Press Secretary weaves a coherent story out of decisions and information provided by others. It also emphasizes the social dimensions of the module: it helps interact us with others. The metaphor breaks down because the Press Secretary doesn t really have the power to constrain the activities of government, whereas our consciousness does. The stories the interpreter weaves can constrain or direct the rest of the brain, but it is only one module among many that are able to do that. Dependent: it depends on and emerges from a host of different modules over which is has little or no control. Reactive: it responds to decision that are made elsewhere before it is even aware of them. Not monarchical / Anarchical: it is not even a first among equals. Compare and contrast. De Facto Account: consciousness is independent, proactive, and monarchical.

4 Lecture Title: The Unconscious: An Altogether New Kind of Beast. Our understanding of the human unconscious has been radically transformed in recent years. We will compare and contrast the old and new understanding of the unconscious. I will start by introducing a highly influential account of human nature and -- in particular the unconscious -- that will be familiar to many of you. It will also help illustrate and reinforce the idea of the De Facto theory of Human Nature. Then, I will introduce you to the present day understanding of the unconscious. This conception of the unconscious emerges from a wide range of experiments and research. We will look

5 at a few that stick out in my memory as significant.

6 An Austrian neurologist and father of psychoanalysis, which is a method for treating mental disorders and contemporary variations of it are still actively practiced today. His ideas about the human psyche come in and out of fashion with different audiences. Ultimately, his influence in unquestionable. The role of the culture industries in his influence. To give you a sense of his influence: Oedipus complex, libido, Freudian slips, repression, defense mechanisms, interpretation of dreams as path to self-understanding. Most notably: the role of the unconscious in our day-today lives. NB: he played a crucial role in seeing mental illness as an illness rather than, say, a moral failing or demonic possession. In a very important sense, he normalized mental illness, but, as some critics might charge, by characterizing all humans as being a little crazy. One standing criticism: his model of the psyche is based on a careful study of the mentally ill. Should we base our understanding of the human psyche on the habits of the unwell?

7 This image is a simplified version of the one Freud provides. First and foremost, a human begins as Id. This English term refers to a human's basic amoral instinctual drives, bodily needs, wants, desires, and impulses, particularly our sexual and aggressive drives. Our animal nature. It is, according to Freud, necessarily unconscious: mindless, chaotic, instinctual, full of energy and contradictions. In German, the word used means the it. Ego is what happens to id, after it has been taught by external forces to respect the reality principle -- that is, you can t always get exactly what you want when you want it. In German, "the I." Superego emerges because of the internalization of cultural norms, as taught by parents effectively our conscience. In German, "the Over-I." Conscious, preconscious (unconscious but not repressed. They can be recalled), and unconscious (actively repressed from conscious thought or what a person is averse to knowing consciously). Unconscious is unknowable through personal introspection, but with the help of a therapist it can be known. Ego is involved in a perpetual struggle, trying to deal with external reality and the competing demands of the Superego and Id. Mental disorders are caused, more or less, by conflicts between these different aspects of the psyche. Treatment involved working with an analyst to resolve the conflicts through personal insight about the origin of the conflict. Divided. Monarchical. An interesting tension regarding who really is in charge. Ego eventually comes to run the show, but, its control is much more tenuous. Ego is the monarch of a divided and unruly kingdom. Self-contained. Sometimes, a person may need outside help from an analyst. Responsible: although id is a kind otherness, we are still ultimately responsible for its wants, desires, and motivations.

8 In Freud, Socrates cart is very much before the horse. Using Socrates metaphor, the ignoble horse is our initial nature. The charioteer emerges, when the ignoble horse learns it can t have all of its desires fulfilled. The moral horse emerges because of parental influence. NB: our morality comes from on high or outside of us. We aren t naturally moral beings. Freud s psyche develops over time, whereas in Socrates metaphor it does not. The nature of the conflict is different. In Socrates account of the Chariot, there is a sense in which the Charioteer, and the horses have the same goal, even if they react differently to it. There is an almost perpetual war in Freud s model, with

9 competing and conflicting desires.

10 Last week, we learned about a recent and scientific assessment of our consciousness through the work of Michael S. Gazzaniga. This week we ll focus on a recent and scientific account of the unconscious. I will be relying primarily on a book by Daniel Kahneman called Thinking, Fast and Slow. (2011) Israeli-American psychologist, who was awarded the Nobel prize in economics. Worked closely with Amos Tversky. In it, he summarizes a lot of the research which supports and illuminates our contemporary understanding of the conscious and unconscious mind. He also formulates an influential new way of talking about the mind s operations. Similar to Freud, who built a model of the human psyche by looking at mental illness, Kahneman s account of the human mind emerges out of his work on cognitive biases -- unconscious errors of reasoning that distort our judgment of the world. One important outcome of his life s work: the rational agent at the heart of economic theory is an impossible fiction. His ultimate conclusion: people place far too much confidence in human judgment. He also emphasizes that we have limited access to the workings of our mind because most of it happens at an unconscious level of which our conscious minds are not aware. Kahneman writes, The notion that we have limited access to the workings of our minds is difficult to accept because, naturally, it is alien to our experience, but it is true: you know far less about yourself than you feel you do. I can t recommend the book: not easy reading!

11 Rather than use the terms unconscious and conscious, Kahneman has coined the expression System 1 and System 2. System 1: automatic, quick, effortless, intuitive and not controlled voluntarily [Unconscious]. System 2: attentive and effortful mental activity, analytical, where reasoning happens. Often associated with the subjective experience of agency, choice, and concentration [consciousness]. Attention required and easily disrupted by diverting attention. Note the order. The relationship: S1 provide a continuous assessment of the main problems that the human organism must solve to survive. It reasons about the world using a variety of heuristics that are not perfectly rational or accurate, but very often good enough. S2 monitors and exercises control over thoughts and actions proposed by System 1, but it is lazy, easily distracted, and gets tired easily. System 2 has some ability to change the way System 1 works, by programming the normally automatic functions of attention and memory. System 2 is a supporting character that believes it is the hero.

12 System 2 is making these judgement every second of every day. Your conscious mind is usually unaware of them. Even when you are aware of them, it sometimes makes no difference. The best use possible of what you do know. URL: Similar: most of what we are is unknown to us and happens unconsciously. Similar: conscious processes can be converted into unconscious processes. Different: conscious to unconscious conversion is for efficiency rather than out of fear. Different: mindless, irrational, bestial vs. capable of highly skilled reasoning, but also prone to certain kinds of reasoning that often lead to errors. It some cases our unconscious be more intelligent and effective than our consciousness. Different: System 1 and System 2 can come into conflict, but the nature of the conflict is different. Different ways of reasoning rather than a conflict of interests.

13 Your unconscious is more you than your conscious self.

14 How do we know this is how our mind works? A huge body of research, which illustrates this notion of the unconscious. One theme that holds it together: Experiments that highlight when we think we re doing one thing, something else is really happening. Split-brain research: the conscious mind associated with the left side of the brain did not know what the other side was up to. Warm/Cool drinks affect your assessment of a person Familiarity equals truth. We will look at some experiments that will help illustrate the overwhelming influence of your unconscious in making you you.

15 Your actions, emotion, and thoughts can be primed by events of which you are not even aware. One characteristic affects your assessment of other characteristics. Beautiful people are often more favorably assessed on characteristics unrelated to their beauty. Taller people are often paid more, and can lead to substantial income over their lives. In assessments, when a person does well one criteria, it can affect how one assesses everything else. If a person is ugly or nasty, they are less likely to be assessed positively on other traits. The importance of strong first impressions. Essays, marking exams, etc.

16 It occurs when people consider a particular value for an unknown quantity before estimating that quantity. Judges were asked to make reflective judgement on the appropriate amount of probation for a particular case (number of months). They then rolled a pair of loaded dice. Either a low or high number. The number affected the amount of probation each judge would assign. Judges who rolled high numbers were more likely to decide on longer periods of probation. NB: these are highly sophisticated reasoners. Notice also that the anchoring number is totally unrelated to the task at hand. Different ways of presenting the same information often evoke different reactions. $19.99 vs. $20.00 Subjects were asked whether they would opt for surgery if the survival rate is 90 percent, while others were told that the mortality rate is 10 percent. The first framing increased acceptance, even though the situation is no different.

17 Jot down your first impulse. Linda is 31 years old, single, outspoken, and very bright. She majored in philosophy. As a student, she was deeply concerned with issues of discrimination and social justice, and also participated in anti-nuclear demonstrations. Which is more probable? A. Linda is a bank teller. B. Linda is a bank teller and is active in the feminist movement. Conjunction fallacy: a conjunction of two events is thought to be more probable than one of the events in direct comparison. 100 bankers and two are feminists. 98% chance Linda is a banker. Whatever you know about Linda, it is far more probable that she is a banker than a feminist banker. Remember the short video we watched.

18 Most healthy participants sample cards from each deck, and, after about 40 or 50 selections, typically stick to the good decks. After only 10 trials, they show a physical "stress" reaction to hovering over the bad decks. The unconscious figures out that something is wrong long before your conscious mind does. Some college students were asked to pick their favorite poster. Some were asked to think about and justify their choice. Some were asked to just pick. Asked a few weeks later, those who simply picked were far more satisfied with this their choice. Your unconscious can know your wants better than your conscious and reflective mind. Hard choice: flip a coin and see what your intuition tells you about the result.

19 Perception. Our brain is proactively making the world you experience and picking and choosing what it wants you to see and hear. "[Our perceptions] aren't the truth; they're simply a species-specific guide to behaviour" - Donald D. Hoffman Touch your nose. Your brain routinely changes your perception of time up to 120 milliseconds

20 Neurons self-activate and spontaneously discharge a spike. Filtered and amplified by brain circuits, this excitability turns into a purposeful exploratory behaviour. The brain is seat of intense spontaneous activity. It is constantly traversed by global patterns of internal activity that originate not from the external world but from within, from the neurons peculiar capacity to self activate in a partly random fashion. Subjective confidence in a judgment is not a reasoned evaluation of the probability that this judgment is correct. Confidence is a feeling, which reflects the coherence of the information and the cognitive ease of processing it. We almost always start with a belief and then look for evidence to support it.

21 We ve focussed on the brain in isolation. Next class we re going to ask if a brain in isolation is a mind at all?