There’s a reason we all like to be right — and perhaps it’s more biological than you think. According to Judith Glasser from the Harvard Business Review, “in situations of high stress, fear or distrust,“ a neurotransmitter called “cortisol” floods the brain and, as a result, brain functions that help with things like trust-building and compassion can completely shut down.
To combat this tidal wave of cortisol, our brains instinctively seek out relief. And the easiest way to do that? According to Glasser, it all comes down to winning an argument. Winning an argument replaces cortisol with the hormones adrenaline and dopamine and these little regulatory substances make us feel delighted, powerful, and sometimes even invincible. It’s a feeling any of us would want to replicate.
You need to be able to challenge your own thoughts. In the metaphor, ‘if a bones broken, it grows back stronger’ and that’s exactly the same in having your views challenged.
So, to recap: High stress? High cortisol. Looking for relief? Win an argument.
As a result, it’s incredibly natural that in these stressful situations, we become drawn to environments where there is minimal threat to our own opinions. We are attracted to people who will agree with us, back up our argument, and affirm our beliefs. When with like-minded people, our neurotransmitters fire and we end up sunbathing in a pool of adrenaline and dopamine. Solidarity and summer sun? Count me in.
The problem is that over time, these environments become echo chambers where people with the same opinions are reinforced by communication and repetition inside a closed system. This selective exposure can increase polarization and weaken facts through confirmation bias. In a global climate where we are all feeling elevated levels of cortisol, these echo chambers are growing at a rapid rate.
At EXPLO, we wanted to know how we can better combat these selective systems in our communities. When we sat down with former Oxford Union President, Stuart Webber, he said the best practice will come from allowing your thoughts to be challenged by those of a differing opinion.
To Webber, strengthening your own ideas comes not from necessarily changing them, but instead learning as much as you can from those who have different ideas. Debate, diversity and dialogue are critical to the establishment of a growth mindset — something I think we can all agree on.
Here are some really interesting (and some just fun) links that we have been recently indulging in to learn more about empowering your own ideas.
At EXPLO, liberal arts takes many forms, exercises, and events. Just a few EXPLO experiences that encourage students to empower their own ideas include: