Monkey See, Monkey Do?
The Role of Mirror Neurons in Behaviour Change
I was recently drawn to an article in Science Daily about the role of 'mirror neurons' in Human Behaviour. Below is an article that summarises the most recent discoveries and seeks to clarify the myths around these interesting brain cells, which were once believed to hold the key to conditions like autism and the development of human language. In addition, they were suspected to play a role in our ability to observe and understand the behaviour of others, without having to experience them ourselves. In other words, 'mirror neurons' were believed to be crucial to our ability to mimic, as well as learn from others. In the research cited at the end of this article, it is this function and not their role in language and understanding that best defines 'mirror neurons'.
I started to reflect on what I understood about human learning and how habits are acquired. Mimicry is one of the first pre-requisites for any habit, in fact we often need to experience someone else's behaviour before we acquire it. Babies watch adults and older children walking and begin to mimic this behaviour until they have acquired, through trial and error, the requisite co-ordination and skills to walk. In fact one of the simplest ways to help a baby go from crawling to walking, is to put them in a room with another child of a similar age who is already walking. The non-walking baby observes the behaviour and mirrors it.
As a hypnotherapist, I know a similar process occurs in the adoption of habits like smoking, drug taking, alcohol consumption and gambling. Much work has been done in recent years about the contagious nature of behaviour, and how our friend's habits are likely to determine our own. Body weight is something that is often reflected amongst family members and groups of friends, as both the behaviours of eating, and exercising are mimicked by children and spouses.
Another discovery is that the very experience of constantly being around people with either a higher or lower than normal body-weight resets an individual's sense of body size, and in the longer term, may induce Body Dismorphic Syndrome (where an individual seriously misperceives the size and proportions of their body). This resets an individuals sense of what is normal.
So amongst populations of teenage girls not only is there a risk of anorexic or binge behaviours being mimicked, but the very perception of the body is shifted by mimicry. Likewise in populations where obesity is the norm, new members of a community may alter their perception of their own body as a result of this new norm.
It now seems that 'mirror neurons' are at the root of this apparently 'contagious' behaviour.
Of course mimicry is also essential in all the positive habits that fill our lives. This got me wondering about how important mimicry is when we go through the process of conscious habit change, that is replacing one habit with a new one that is more productive.
In previous blogs and newsletters I've discussed the steps to ensure permanent habit change, and I've included these below.
What I want to add to this list is the crucial step of spending time with people who have achieved what you want to achieve, to switch on the powerful effect of our 'mirror neurons' in shaping behaviour.
This is where mentoring becomes extremely important. Find a mentor who has achieved what you are aiming for. Donate your time and services for free to spend time absorbing their behaviours and attitudes. Buy them lunch or dinner and ask them about how they achieved their goals and then watch them at work, or pay them for direct one-on-one mentoring.
As a manager in the work-place, a sporting coach or parent, spend time exhibiting the behaviours you want in your staff, team or children. The power of the 'mirror neuron' is switched on by seeing rather than hearing. There is something about watching someone's behaviour that switches on these cells, where being told what to do does not.
So harness the power of your own 'mirror neurons' to acquire new desired skills and behaviours, and leverage the 'mirror neurons' of people you influence by demonstrating the behaviours you want them to mimic.
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