513: Help Your Brain Learn, with Lisa Feldman Barrett

Feb 15, 2021

Lisa Feldman Barrett, a leading expert in psychology and neuroscience, shares insights about her book, *Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain*. She discusses how the brain's primary function is survival, constantly predicting our actions. Learning, she reveals, is energetically costly, making it essential for leaders to foster supportive environments for better learning. Barrett also debunks common myths about emotions, emphasizing that they're interconnected biological processes rather than isolated experiences, enhancing our understanding of feelings and regulation.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Brain's Primary Purpose

Your brain's main job isn't thinking, but regulating your body.
It prioritizes survival by managing internal systems like temperature.

INSIGHT

Predictive Brain

Our brains predict our actions and sensory experiences.
This "controlled hallucination" is constrained by the world and our bodies.

INSIGHT

Sensing vs. Predicting

Brains predict actions first, then senses to confirm or update predictions.
Learning occurs when new information changes these predictions.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Lisa Feldman Barrett: Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain

Lisa Feldman Barrett is among the top one percent most cited scientists in the world for her revolutionary research in psychology and neuroscience. She is a University Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Northeastern University, with appointments at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. She is also Chief Science Officer for the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior at Harvard University.

In addition to her bestselling book How Emotions Are Made*, she has published over 240 peer-reviewed, scientific papers appearing in Science, Nature Neuroscience, and other top journals in psychology and cognitive neuroscience. She has also given a popular TED talk with nearly 6 million views and received a Guggenheim Fellowship in neuroscience and an NIH Director’s Pioneer Award.

In this conversation, Lisa and I discuss the lessons from her newest book, Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain*. We explore some of the common misperceptions about brain biology and examine how much energy use and conservation affects us. Then, we uncover how we can help ourselves — and others — learn better.

Key Points

The primary purpose of your brain is to keep you alive. As a result, your brain predicts almost everything you do.
Unlike how we perceive, sensing actually comes second for the brain. It’s wired to prepare for action first.
Learning is an expensive use of energy. Leaders can cultivate environments for learning by providing stable environments that don’t burn unnecessary energy.
Changing behavior in the heat of the moment isn’t likely, but we can change how our brain will predict outside of the moment.
You are always cultivating your past, since today’s present becomes the past. That’s how you change the way your brain predicts in the future.

Resources Mentioned

Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain* by Lisa Feldman Barrett
Lisa Feldman Barrret’s website

Interview Notes

Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).

Related Episodes

Essentials of Adult Development, with Mindy Danna (episode 273)
Help People Learn Through Powerful Teaching, with Pooja Agarwal (episode 421)
Four Steps to Get Training Results, with Jim Kirkpatrick (episode 446)

Discover More

Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic.