19/11/2023
While researching mirror neurons for my students, I came across some neuroscience myths.
The work of mirror neurons has been questioned since 2009, when Gregory Hickok said that it's difficult to distinguish them from other neurons.
However, there have been studies which prove that these special neurons can be involved in social cognition. Although there are popular myths around this, we can interpret the intentions and emotions of each other:
🔑 we yawn when other people yawn (55% of us on average, based on Haker's study)
🔑 small babies laugh in response to an adult laugh, even when they don't get the joke. Social learning theory also supports the idea of imitation or "mirroring"
🔑 strong emotions when we watch a film or become an observer of a real life drama
🔑 we can learn from imitation (which is why hands-on learning is much more efficient than listening to a lecture)
🔑 marketing strategies, based on evoking strong emotions in a customer, often have success
🔑 in business, customers will be more keen to smile at us, if we smile at them
🔑 when we visit a shop, bank, travel agency, etc., we are more likely to return if we feel that the staff are truly sympathetic to us.
Empathy mirrors empathy!
