The human mind is one of great mystery – as science discovers a new insight, dozens of adjacent topics for study rise to the surface.
In new research published by psychologist and neuroscientist Norman Farb, he has discovered the human brain creates ‘mental maps’ that help us navigate the world with more clarity and efficiency; they allow us to respond to familiar situations without expending too much energy. Unfortunately, however, these ‘maps’ can become stagnant and outdated – leading to negative thought patterns and false conclusions regarding the ways of the world around us. Not to mention that the brain can often mistake a new interaction for a ‘familiar situation’ using a mental map not suited for the circumstance.
Changing our outdated mental maps involves re-evaluating and reshaping the mental frameworks through which we perceive and interact with the world.
Our brains are brilliant at finding patterns in our reality and automating that process. Your commute goes from being novel on the first day—wondering where to turn, what's traffic like, when to slow down for this turn—to 1 month later the route is familiar, a pattern, something done without even thinking.
The brain wants to set up a model of the world that lets it predict what is going to happen next in all facets of life, from talking to someone at work, to cooking dinner—these thought patterns become automated overtime so that any leftover resources can be used to deal with the unexpected. Where we run into trouble is when we believe our map of the world is the world. As Farb said:
“The way it simplifies things is by creating massive blind spots as to what are all the other things that are possible in this moment, which has big implications for our ability to change.”
But how can we change those outdated mental maps? How is one to retrain the brain to accurately distinguish between familiar or unfamiliar, when this is often something that is so instinctive, routine, and even subconscious?
The Tool: Describe Interpret Respond (DIR)
When we understand the natural human inclination to use mental maps to save you energy, then we can actively take steps to question those metal maps. So that we can create new mental maps that are relevant, accurate, and get you safely to the correct destination. We equip our Intercultural Intelligence Practitioners with the tools to do just this, one of them being called DIR or Describe. Interpret. Respond.
In its simplest form, this means:
Describe - What you can objectively see?
Interpret - What you think about what you see?
Respond - How you react to what you see?
In more complex terms, DIR is a practice that requires intentional time to learn and begin to put to use in the world. It is the act of slowing down and keeping your brain from jumping to ‘Responding’ too quickly.
We are wired to always have an emotional response to a circumstance—but if we can ensure that our emotional response is based off an accurate and well-rounded understanding of what we’re seeing, we’re more likely to respond in an appropriate manner.
This tool is advantageous in almost all aspects of daily life, from sitting at the table with family to stakeholder meetings.
Consider sitting in the evening with your family, dinner on the table. It’s been a long day and you’re ready for a peaceful meal. One of your children is acting quiet and won’t take part in the conversation, dodging questions or giving snippy answers. You find this to be disrespectful behavior, and so after asking one more time and your child still remains absent, you become upset and send them from the table.
Our brains are built to work as efficiently as possible—we normally go through ‘describe’ and ‘interpret’ so fast that it feels as though we jump straight to ‘response’. If we break down this example, you saw your child ‘ignoring’ you (describe), interpreted this as disrespectful, and so responded in anger, sending your child from the table.
Now that we’ve used DIR to slow down that process, we can use “Describe” to see what is actually happening in front of you. Then use “Interpret” to see what you thought about what happened. In slowing down the process you can step back for a moment to change your interpretation of the situation. You may have had a long day, but didn’t know that your child did too. They were disappointed after finding out they performed poorly on an exam and were frustrated with themselves for this performance. This led to their being absent-minded at dinner, having a difficult time participating and being ‘pleasant’. This changes how you might interpret the situation, helping you give a better informed and more understanding response as a parent.
Having an emotional response to a scenario in front of you may be inevitable, but the way in which you respond is completely driven by your understanding of what is occurring. It is always wise to slow down, consider perspectives, ask questions, and acknowledge people’s differences in interpretation. The way you experience life will change and become full of a richness you haven’t known before. This will lead to mental maps that are accurate, yet flexible, bending to the nuances of human interaction.
If the DIR tool has piqued your interest and you desire to learn about how to be a person of intercultural agility, click here to discover how you can get equipped with intercultural Agility.
Read about the other tools in the Perception Management Toolbox:
Perception Builders & Breakers - Perception can often be a mirage, and it takes effortful insight to see clearly
Mirroring - Stepping into another’s shoes to experience their reality more clearly
Single Story - Realizing that your perspective on reality is only one piece of the puzzle
Cultural Learner/Cultural Critic - The choice to view another culture from the perspective of a learner, rather than a critic
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