Education
You’ve probably experienced this phenomenon yourself at some point in time. It always happens in the same way: Step 1: You don’t care about someone, something, or you have a pre-conceived notion of how you should feel about someone or something. Step 2: You hear, read, or watch a story about that someone or something. Step 3: You have a newfound respect, understanding, and empathy for that someone or something. This is not some magical trick that happens to all of us. It is the science of stories, and how they impact our learning and empathy for others. The short version of the science is this: Our brains pay special attention to stories, engaging more areas of the mind then when we hear or see facts. And when we learn a good story, our brains synthesize the neurochemical oxytocin. This helps us feel others’ emotions and empathize with them. In this episode I dive deep into the research, science, and impact stories have on learning experiences and building empathy in all of us.