What’s happening in your brain when you change your mind? (with Rick Hanson)
May 8, 2025
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Rick Hanson, a clinical psychologist and New York Times best-selling author, dives deep into the brain's remarkable plasticity. He explains how our neural connections adapt in response to experiences and the challenges we face in changing entrenched beliefs. The conversation highlights the effects of trauma and stress on mindset, the vital role of social influences in shaping our values, and the importance of emotional well-being in fostering openness to change. Listeners will discover how compassion and small individual actions can also drive meaningful personal and societal growth.
Neuroplasticity highlights the brain's capacity to change, yet emotional ties often make altering deeply ingrained beliefs challenging.
Physiological states, such as calmness and rest, significantly affect one’s openness to reconsidering beliefs and embracing new perspectives.
Combining bottom-up emotional engagement with top-down cognitive approaches enhances the likelihood of genuine belief change and personal growth.
Deep dives
The Power of Neuroplasticity
Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to change and adapt based on experiences and learning. The brain is composed of approximately 85 billion neurons that constantly form and lose connections through a process often described as 'neurons that fire together wire together.' This plasticity is essential for learning, but it also means that experiences can lead to both positive and negative changes. Consequently, individuals can retrain their brains for better outcomes by focusing on their experiences and consciously engaging in positive thinking.
Understanding the Disconnect Between Belief and Change
The paradox of the brain's plasticity contrasted with the difficulty in changing beliefs showcases the tension between cognitive and emotional aspects of the mind. While the brain can physically change, deeply ingrained beliefs often remain resistant due to their emotional ties and connections to identity. Individuals may rationally understand new information but still struggle to change their core beliefs because these beliefs may be interwoven with their sense of self. Changing these beliefs requires addressing not only thoughts but also the underlying emotions and self-identity that support them.
The Role of Physiological State in Cognitive Flexibility
A person's physiological state significantly influences their ability to engage in flexible thinking and reconsider their beliefs. When individuals are calm and well-rested, they are more open to new ideas and perspectives. Conversely, stress, anger, or fatigue can narrow perception and lead to resistance in changing one’s mind. As such, fostering a conducive emotional and physical environment is critical for enhancing cognitive flexibility and openness to new information.
The Importance of Bottom-Up and Top-Down Approaches
Changing one’s mind effectively can involve both bottom-up and top-down approaches. Bottom-up methods focus on engaging deeper emotional systems within the brain to create lasting change, emphasizing feelings and experiences over mere cognitive restructuring. Meanwhile, top-down techniques, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), aim to alter distorted thinking patterns, which can also influence emotions. Both approaches can be complementary, but understanding when and how to apply them enhances the likelihood of genuine change.
Navigating the Negativity Bias
The brain's negativity bias makes it more likely to focus on and internalize negative experiences than positive ones, which can hinder personal growth and change. This bias evolved as a survival mechanism, promoting attention to potential threats and dangers. However, it can lead to an imbalance, where negative thoughts overshadow positive experiences, stunting emotional and cognitive growth. By consciously directing attention toward affirmative experiences and feelings, individuals can counteract this bias and foster a healthier mindset.
Clinical psychologist and New York Times best-selling author Rick Hanson joins us to discuss how remarkably plastic our brains are, despite how fixed they often feel. We discuss what's doing on mechanistically when people change their minds, and what we can learn from this about how to be more open to change as individuals.
Want more Rick?
Listen to Being Well with Forrest Hanson and Dr. Rick Hanson on Apple and Spotify
Check out his books like Hardwiring Happiness and Neurodharma
About the hosts:
Thom and Aidan left boring, stable careers in law and tech to found FarmKind, a donation platform that helps people be a part of the solution to factory farming — regardless of their diet. While the podcast isn’t about animal welfare, it’s inspired by their daily experience grappling with a fundamental question: Why do people so rarely change their minds, even when confronted with compelling evidence? This curiosity drives their exploration of intellectual humility and the complex factors that enable (or prevent) meaningful belief change.
Thoughts? Feedback? Guest recommendations? Email us at hello@changedmymindpod.com
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