Brains On Purpose™tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-13215822013-06-17T10:09:52-06:00Neuroscience and conflict resolution
Stephanie West Allen, JD, in collaboration with Jeffrey M. Schwartz, MDTypePadUsing neuroscience in your personal or professional life? Reading this book may make you more discerning—and accuratetag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341cad7153ef0192ab3adda6970d2013-06-17T10:09:52-06:002013-06-17T10:41:57-06:00I often warn about the neuroscience I see and hear in the field of conflict resolution because some (maybe much) of it ranges from mildly inaccurate to wildly outlandish. Now, if I want to inject some caution in the conversation, I can recommend a new, easy-to-read book: Brainwashed: The Seductive Appeal of Mindless Neuroscience. When I was at the annual...StephanieWestAllenVideos from APS: Memory formation, brain diversity, and our brains as conductor-less orchestrastag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341cad7153ef0192aaa4c3da970d2013-06-02T14:11:31-06:002013-06-02T14:15:10-06:00Last time I went to the annual conference of Association for Psychological Science, I was grateful for all that I learned. I attended again this year and the experience was no less valuable. Even if you did not attend, several of the talks are available online for you to view. Below I will link to some of them. Michael Gazzaniga...StephanieWestAllenExperts in Emotion: Listen to Kevin Ochsner talking about emotion regulationtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341cad7153ef0192aa31694e970d2013-05-22T06:46:35-06:002013-05-22T07:25:51-06:00Click to listen to Columbia University's neuroscientist Dr. Kevin Ochsner talking about emotion regulation. (The interview is a part of a Yale interview series.) Among other topics, he talks about reappraisal and reframing, generating emotions, and using cognitive control. One of the processes he studies is using high-level thoughts to adjust the amygdala response; he explains in this interview. I...StephanieWestAllenVisual vocabulary: Some tips for your pictograph pathtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341cad7153ef019101de08de970c2013-05-07T11:15:57-06:002013-05-07T11:17:21-06:00We've looked at the brain-friendliness of visual communication in past posts. Today I am creating a very short post just to give you a couple of resources you may find helpful on that pictograph path™—if you decide to follow the visual way. First, a blog post on building your visual vocabulary: "Sketchnote building blocks + visual vocabulary" (Cheryl Lowry). This...StephanieWestAllenFilters and frames: Mediation is all about the viewfindertag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341cad7153ef017eea5503ac970d2013-04-17T11:40:42-06:002013-04-17T11:48:24-06:00Our brains are vigilant, hyperaware of any sensed change to see if it represents danger. Partly because they use a lot of our energy, our brains seek to deal with new information quickly and easily. So, rather like a photographer, the brain applies filters and frames. The filters shift, accentuate, and diminish what is seen. And the frames limit what...StephanieWestAllenConflict concert? Dispute ditty? Mediation minuet? Can the speech of angels lead to agreement?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341cad7153ef017c38505e71970b2013-04-03T07:54:35-06:002013-04-03T07:54:35-06:00Music is well said to be the speech of angels; in fact, nothing among the utterances allowed to man is felt to be so divine. It brings us near to the infinite. --Thomas Carlyle It's been a while since I last blogged about the role of music in conflict resolution. But I was reminded of its potential by a recent...StephanieWestAllenWhat is the biggest, scariest mediation monster of all?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341cad7153ef017d42418675970c2013-03-24T21:38:37-06:002013-03-27T16:11:32-06:00Before I venture an answer to the question in the title of this post, let me put forth a definition of monster, one of which I am particularly fond: Monster derives from the Latin word monstrum, which in turn derives from the root monere (to warn). To be a monster is to be an omen. --Stephen T. Asma, On Monsters:...StephanieWestAllenAnother clue that brain locationism is likely wrong or misleading: Why is the location concept sticky as glue?tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341cad7153ef017c380b0c01970b2013-03-23T11:22:53-06:002013-03-23T11:32:06-06:00Locationism is when people talk about the brain as if its activities or functions happen or are governed in just one location. For example, someone may say, "Here is the place in the brain for talking and the location for balking and the place for walking." I have blogged about this misperception before, e.g, here, here, and here. For some...StephanieWestAllenComing to DC in May? April 1 is the last day for early bird ratestag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341cad7153ef017ee9e57988970d2013-03-23T11:00:00-06:002013-04-01T08:08:31-06:00Want an opportunity to learn from many of the top psychologists and neuroscientists, and at a reasonable cost? Then sign up now for this year's annual conference of the Association for Psychological Science. I attended in 2011, and will do so again this year. It's a terrific learning experience, a way to keep up on many areas of science related...StephanieWestAllenWant to improve visual communication? Here are 10 principlestag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341cad7153ef017c37f4fa20970b2013-03-20T14:32:10-06:002013-03-20T14:54:53-06:00We have looked at the pictograph path in past posts and considered the benefits of visual communication in conflict resolution (or in almost any situation when you want thoughts and feelings better understood). I recently discovered a terrific resource to help us communicate with pictures. It's a book with the title Picture This: How Pictures Work. In this delightful book,...StephanieWestAllenLessons from Poe: Detecting the Inner Mediator—Join us this May in Baltimoretag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341cad7153ef017c37905a40970b2013-03-11T18:46:09-06:002013-04-03T13:44:09-06:00I will be presenting three programs in Baltimore on May 2 and 3. They are being offered by the ADR Section of the Maryland Bar Association at Westminster Hall, site of the Edgar Allan Poe crypt. Below is the description of the day-long program being held on May 2. I will also give a keynote that evening. And, if 20...StephanieWestAllenLearn about your brain from a comic book? Yep, this one's from an artist/neuroscientist teamtag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341cad7153ef017d417b535a970c2013-03-04T13:05:34-07:002013-03-04T13:11:13-07:00Soon you will be able to read a neurocomic, a book created by a comic artist and a scientist who studies the brain. Click to learn more and watch a short video (The Verge) about the forthcoming graphic novel. More about the book in this video from The Guardian.StephanieWestAllen