How did the story change our brains, minds, and the world?

ByClinton Lofthouse

"Story" was born by a bonfireI know that, even if it is a derivative of human evolution, the story is now inseparable from human beings. About how the "story" that exists beyond time and culture, not only as pleasure but as an important thing to change humans, affects humans and the world,Aeon MagazineIt is summarized.

How stories change hearts and brains - Elizabeth Svoboda - Aeon
http://aeon.co/magazine/psychology/once-upon-a-time-how-stories-change-hearts-and-brains/

One of the most influential stories in the world is the Old Testament. Of course, the Old Testament also contains moral prohibitions such as "thou shalt not do," but many of the things written there were stories. Evil and Adam who ate the fruit of the wisdom in the Garden of Eden, who was seduced by the snake, touched the wrath of God and banished Eden, thinking that God would destroy those who do wrong with the flood "The right person who walked with God "Tell Noah, let's make the Ark, and the story that made a variety of animals evacuate by pairing has the power to move people, the ancient Hebrews unite under the will of God and build up a society It was.

Meanwhile, in ancient Greece there was a tradition that verbal stories could be conveyed. at that timeHomer's"Iliad"Odyssey"It is one of the stories that has been passed down from person to person and remains until now. Odyssey is an adventure story that hero Odysseus confronts difficulties, sometimes hurt while returning home after finishing a long journey, one of the reasons that this story has been handed down beyond the thousands of years is that the story is courage And something called sacrifice and sacrifice. Professor William Harris who studies classical literature at Middlebury University "The reason Greeks later came to use Homer in textbooks is not because it deserves to be respected and respected older but how humans think under stress Because it was surprisingly clearly written that Odyssey can be read carefully many times, human beings will be self-reliant. " In addition, the story of Homer is affecting not only human thinking but also culture and people's behavior, and it seems that the strategy of Homer's story is seen in the battle strategy that late Greece did.

ByMyth Image

Recently, research using MRI to investigate how the story affects the human brain is also being conducted. In a study conducted by Professor Wuli Hanson of Princeton University, one womanFMRII asked the story of the story without rehearsal while receiving it, and then asked 11 people to listen to the stories of the women who recorded. As I was scanning the listener's brain, I understood that the brains of the listeners also reacted to the part where the female brain, the reader of the story, reacted. In other words, it turned out that the brain moves in the same way, "the audience synchronizes with the reader and empathizes with the story".

Also, in a study of a neuroscientist, Mary-Imoadino-Young, enrolled at the University of Southern California, it proved that the story has an impact on human digestive organs and heart movements. Professor Young tells the subjects "a woman who taught Braille Braille he invented to blind children" to the subjects, and the data of fMRI shows an emotional increase, and the subject's body will change. And as I approached the scene where the story came to pass, it was said that the beat of the subject became faster. Professor Young said that listening to the story is actually a feeling close to experiencing.

ByAllan Ajifo

As mentioned above, the story that influences visceral level changes even human behavior in reality. Professor Lisa Libby at Ohio State University conducted empathy on the fictional story character and studied "experience and taking" that captures the emotions and thoughts of the character like herself People who empathize to the story that "the main character votes in the midst of suffering" know that it is easy to go to the election and actually vote after a few days, and that the story can change the behavior of real human beings It is an example showing.

The effects of these stories are also incorporated into education.Facing History and OurselvesNPO is one of the institutions doing classes using historical stories at American schools. For example, the police and the fire brigade were just sitting by despite the assault and arson of residential areas where the Jews livedCrystal nightIn the lesson, a discussion was held on "Why did not the surrounding people do anything despite the person being hurt in front of the eyes", against the Jews who are persecuted under the Nazi regime I will make you think about how Germans responded and think about familiar topics such as whether I should defend my friends who are badly told by the surrounding people. The story is cited in order that the way children think and change will change. It is understood that children who completed this program know that their ability to sympathize and consider other people is high and that they are easy to intervene when other students are being bullied.

ByMatthew Coughlin

Also, the story is also used for programs to correct a person committing a crime. Researcher Robert Wechsler of the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth said that Jack LondonOcean wolf"And James Dickey's"escape"To eight men who were convicted and discussed the stories, they overlapped themselves in the life of the hero and told themselves about their birth one after another. "A fictitious character was a critical moment with life in them, it is not an overstatement to say that the story grabbed the students' hearts and saved their lives," Professor Wechsler said. In a study of 600 subjects, it has also been demonstrated that the rate of decrease in the program using the story will be 60% compared to the crime reduction rate of 16% strictly controlled by the discipline will remain at 16% .

It is also famous that people with depression stick to one story for a long time. "I do not do it enough," "My mother crushed my dreams", and repeatedly tells stories inside of me repeatedly and again. Therefore, the counselor destroys monologues of such patients and gives new stories. In the case that happened in 2005, a man called CG was abused by his parents when he was a child, and even in the late 20's he was in a state of unrelated relationship with a person who hurt himself. He thought that getting out of his story makes himself lonely. When treatment started, CG often said, "I do not know what the session of today was useful", but gradually CG talks to his counselor about his story and counselor said, "CG He told CG himself that he was talking about unnecessary stories to himself. "

ByEduard Germis

One day, CG talked in the session that he had a fun time inviting women to date. When the counselor expressed that as "happiness", CG burst into tears, "There was none who made us feel happy or happy to do in my life." It was a crucial moment in the story of CG. I did not abuse anyone anymore, I thought that I was not a child forgotten, but a full of possibilities and a valuable person. After treatment is finished, CG has a great reward in the academic field as well as having a worthwhile.

Of course sometimes the story works in a good direction, sometimes it does not. The success of the speech by Adolf Hitler is an example that shows that persuasive stories are not necessarily good. Some writers also hate the idea that "writers make people think and act according to stories". Writer'sShannon HaleThinks, "Well," You get asked the reader what you want from this book? "But I am at a loss, I am conscious of some purpose or moral thing I never wrote it, so I want the reader to get what I want to get. "


Warsaw · GhettoAlison Lurie's speech about young nurses who take their children out of their way and endanger their livesExotic events"And over 1,200 refugees hidden in the hotel where they worked"Hotel · Rwanda"The story gives us another choice to see the world. It is said that the facts are stranger than the novels, but sometimes the story is more important than the fact itself.