Astonishing Facts About How Brains Work Under Stress

Our brains are bombarded with information, constantly. Maybe it’s the latest updates on the supply chain. Or the economy. Perhaps it’s just a never-ending stream of work emails. Or too much input from family members and friends. Whatever it is, mixed in with all that information is a healthy dose of misinformation, too. Some of it doesn’t really matter. But some of it can influence us. And in some cases, that influence may lead to poor decisions that could literally mean the difference between life and death. So, it’s good to know how to recognize and sort out the nonsense. And also, to understand how brains work and when we are most likely to get fooled.

How Brains Work Under Stress

The more stressed we are, the harder it is for us to differentiate between valid facts and stuff we should approach with skepticism.

This is unfortunate, because situations that require split second decisions are often the highest stress moments in our day.

So, all the more reason to understand how and why we may be lured in by misinformation.

It’s also important to know that when we’re under high stress we need to be especially careful about how we process information.

This is also a reason why it’s essential that we consciously take the time we need to make important, sound decisions, whenever we have the flexibility to do so.

This may be why we often decide to “sleep on it” when we’re considering a major life challenge or choice.

Some Actually Learn How to Control Their Brains

If we are in a line of work (or life situation) that keeps us under stress for long periods of time, it’s especially critical to develop our decision-making capabilities, and also to be conscious of when our brains may be most prone to lead us astray.

Soldiers undergo training specifically to help them improve their abilities to process information accurately when under duress.

But what about others who are in situations where the stress never seems to let up?

First responders. Victims of domestic violence. Medical professionals.

Those who are experiencing economic hardship.

Even those of us who are simply juggling too many priorities – children at home, working at home, COVID in the house.

How Brains Work During Especially Stressful Times

Yes, unfortunately during especially stressful times (for example the “COVID times” or the period of time after September 11), it feels as though we’re constantly on edge, and that we’ve been teetering out on this ledge forever.

When we’re in that state of mind, it makes us even more vulnerable to misinformation, about everything from our health to our finances.

Well, even without formal training, there are ways we can get better at identifying invalid information, and still other ways to improve our decision making, all the time.

Here are some things to look out for, and some tactics that may help.

How Brains Work When We Hear New Information

It is probably not surprising that when we hear new information, it gets our attention.

Not information that conflicts with what we think we know – that’s another story all together.

Just new information.

Something novel, that we’ve never heard before.

The discovery of a new planet.

A new finding about nutrition.

Maybe a juicy rumor about a coworker or friend.

Just because it’s new information – we are more likely to pay attention to it. And perhaps pass it along.

This is especially true when new information is scary. Or downright weird.

The more outlandish or frightening the information is, the more likely we are to perk up our ears and pay attention.

Why Brains Do What They Do

Why? Because in prehistoric times, it was important to notice unusual stuff.

We needed to pay attention to survive, and we also needed to pass the information along to the rest of our tribe, asap, to maximize their odds for survival too.

Although situations like this are relatively rare for most of us today, the behavior has stuck with us.

And in those rare moments when we need our DNA memory to kick in, we are grateful it did.

But what does this mean the rest of the time?

It means we’re more likely to listen carefully to information that’s new, scary, or strange.

Needless to say (and although they may not understand the biology) what this means is that when folks want to lure us in, they may lead with something bizarre, just to pique our interest.

This tendency of our brains may be one of the reasons why conspiracy theories are often quick to take hold.

How Brains Work When Information Conforms to Our Beliefs

Unfortunately, we are also more likely to believe and retain information when it conforms to or aligns with what we THINK we already know. 

If we’ve made up our mind something is a bad idea (whether or not we have information to support that), every time we hear someone else say it’s a bad idea, we notice.

We also tend to accept information as true if we understand it.

So, when we’re presented with a new, more complex, or contradictory theory to one we’ve held for a long time, we are not inclined to accept it or even acknowledge it.

On the one hand, this can be good, because it forces us to “do our homework,” so to speak.

On the other hand, it may mean we do not give those with alternative hypotheses the benefit of the doubt long enough for us to hear them out.

How Brains Work: Information That Contradicts Our Beliefs

To make matter worse, we tend not to notice when someone presents information that contradicts beliefs that we hold. And so, we become more cemented in our preconceived notions, even if they are groundless, and downright wrong.

This is dangerous.

Especially if we have been brought up with one set of overarching beliefs and principles and tend to insulate ourselves from those who may have different beliefs.

Think about how easy it may be to influence people in today’s society.

Consider this: today’s social or other media attracts an audience who accepts a certain subset of information, who believes a set dogma, or ideology.

All that media has to do is to continually produce and project information that aligns to those beliefs.

And we humans are hooked.  We stop thinking. We don’t ask hard questions.

Because it’s easier, and we are biologically prone to dig into our already held positions.

How Brains Work: Processing Potential Misinformation

Scientists have proven how easy it is for us to be misled by misinformation. One study involved labeling bottles of wine with different prices (that were inaccurate). The “information” in this case was that people thought they knew how much a wine cost before they were asked to taste it.

Almost without fail, tasters identified the more expensive wines as tasting better, even though the data on pricing was false.

Think about how this natural tendency of our brains can be used to influence our thinking.

Misleading graphs about fuel prices.

Questionable labels on the food we buy.

Implied promises or incentives related to contracts we sign.

We can be fooled by something as simple as a TV commercial that claims a new food is good for us, if we don’t know any better.

The Takeaways About How Brains Work

So how can we guard against the natural way our brains tend to work? Here are a few strategies that can help enable us to consider new ideas, while being more vigilant in the face of potential misinformation.

• Notice what topics attract our attention. Figure out why.
• Similarly, notice what news is difficult for us to accept or even acknowledge. Listen hard, in these situations. Imagine a person we respect and trust is delivering the information. Are we more open to hearing it now?
• Be careful about repeating information we hear that aligns to previously held points of view until we put it to the test. If alternative information was presented, what questions would we ask? Ask those questions.
• Notice when we are under stress. Be particularly cognizant of information that is provided at these times.
• Play the “devil’s advocate”. Could we prove an alternative fact or viewpoint is valid, if we tried? Perhaps it’s worth exploring those alternatives more fully.
• Imagine every fact we hear is background information intended to inform a debate. Can we articulate proof points on both sides of an issue? Try to do so, before making up our minds which view we support.

Let’s Try to Alter How Our Brains Work – Together

Let’s have the courage to have more informed conversations and dialogue with one another.

Because that type of interaction is the only way that humans grow, advance, develop new ideas, explore new worlds.

It’s what sets us apart. And it may mean our very survival.

Here’s to hearing each other out. Because everyone is worthy of being heard.

And has something to add. And who knows?

Something we hear, when we consciously listen, and open the door to new viewpoints, may actually lead us to begin to question our own. Here’s to understanding each other better, and also to understanding how brains work.

Thank you for reading.

If you haven’t yet subscribed, please visit KindCompassCoach and enter your email address so you never miss a post.