The University of Bern used brain stimulation to prove that empathy with future victims of climate change can encourage sustainable behaviour. The research was published in the “Cortex Journal”.
The greatest challenge facing humanity today is global climate change. Despite decades worth of warnings and political resolutions to the contrary, sustainability is still far from being realized. Daria Knoch, Professor of Social Neuroscience at University of Bern, stated that “the fact that people aren’t acting in more climate-friendly ways isn’t because we don’t know enough about this critical situation.”
Daria Knoch, along with her team, conducted a neuroscientific research to discover the reasons we are unable to act sustainably. Although some of the effects of global warming can be seen today, others will be more affected in the future.
Daria Knoch said that it is precisely our inability of mentalise with strangers that discourages climate friendly action. She was commenting on the findings of a study she did with her research team at the University of Bern’s Social Neuro Lab. Participants received stimulation to a portion of their brain that is important in understanding the perspectives of others. This stimulation resulted in more sustainable behavior.
Participants were divided into four groups and each took real money from a pool. Each participant decided what they wanted: the more money that they took out of the pool, the more money they ended up with in their pocket. The payment received by the next group was lower if the four-person group withdrew too much money. The experiment was a simulation of a real situation where overusing a resource can have negative consequences for others in the future. Some participants were given brain stimulation (experimental groups) to help them decide how much money to withdraw. This was a non-invasive, mild, harmless electrical current that was applied to the skull to improve the brain’s function. Bern researchers stimulated an area that plays a significant role in judging others’ perspectives. They found that the stimulation had a significant impact on decision making. Participants without stimulation made more sustainable decisions than those with it (control group).
Benedikt Langenbach is the lead author of this study and a former PhD student of the Social Neuro Lab. Researchers believe that neurofeedback and meditation can be used to improve brain function.
Benedikt Langenbach, a University of Duisburg–Essen employee, said that there are additional strategies to improve the formation of perspectives. “We know that people are more inclined to empathise — for example, with victims of climate change — if they can identify with them.” Daria Knoch said, “Our neuroscientific discoveries can help to make communication about the climate crisis more effective,” by giving affected people a name and a picture instead of talking about a future generation. (ANI)
(This story is not edited by Devdiscourse staff.