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TRANFORMING SAFETY
WITH NEUROSCIENCE….
Because the brain is a powerful tool
WELCOME
WHAT IS NEUROSCIENCE?
• The scientific study of the nervous system
• Traditionally seen as a branch of biology
• Currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates
with other fields such as chemistry, cognitive science,
computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,
medicine, genetics and applied disciplines such as
psychology
WHY NEUROSCIENCE?
• Our brains are not designed for the 21st century workplace
• Provides an evidence based approach to understanding how the brain selects new ways of
thinking and behaving
• Is backed by scientific research which can help persuade even the most sceptical workers.
• Its practical & can be relatively easy to implement
• Provides a lens through which to look at & understand people & what motivates them
• Understanding our brains & how they work enables us to work with the physiology, not fight
it which ultimately improves performance – its all about what helps our brains to perform at
their best
DID YOU KNOW?
• Approx. 1.3kg – consistency of tofu or
soft boiled egg
• Uses 20% of body’s energy resources
• Has no moving parts
• 100 billion neurons – 100 trillion
connections between each other
• 2% of body weight
• Left hemisphere - facts & details
• 80% water
• Right hemisphere - emotions, empathy,
big picture
• 2% dehydration affects attention,
memory & other cognitive skills
• The goal of the brain is survival
KEY BRAIN STRUCTURES
PRE FRONTAL CORTEX
• Conscious brain
• Responsible for high level thinking processes (decision making,
understanding, memorising, inhibition & recall)
• Controls the working memory
• Processes information in a serial manner
• Small – (has limitations i.e. can only hold 4 pieces of
information at any one time)
• Energy intensive
• Easily distracted
• Fussy – think Goldilocks! (it needs just the right about of
neurochemicals (dopamine & adrenaline) to operate most
effectively)
THE LIMBIC SYSTEM
• Emotional core of the brain
• Plays a role in smell, motivation
& memory
• Scans data coming into the
brain, telling you what to pay
attention to, and in what way
• Constantly makes toward or
away decisions
AMYGDALA
• Almond shape set of neurons located deep in the
medial temporal lobe
• Plays a key role in processing emotions & motivations
(particularly those related to survival – FREEZE,
FIGHT, FLIGHT)
• Involved in processing of emotions (fear, anger &
pleasure)
• Responsible for determining what memories are stored
& where
IMPACT OF THREAT / REWARD STATES
THREAT
REWARD
• Fight or flight
• Narrower vision
• Positive
• Willing to get involved
• Distracted
• Reduced memory
• Focussed
• Dopamine up
• Anxious
• Poorer performance
• Resilient
• Think less clearly
• Weakened immune system
• Willing to collaborate
• Less emotional control
• Dopamine down
• See threats where they don’t
exist
• Cortisol /stress (destroys brain
cells)
• More able to learn –
open to new ideas
• See the workplace & colleagues
as more hostile than it really is
• Innovative
• Creative
INSIGHTS INTO THE BRAIN
• Its a connection machine
• Up close, no two brains are the same
• It hardwires everything it can – hardwiring drives automatic perceptions
• It is practically impossible to deconstruct our old wiring – easy to create new wiring
• Hardwiring drives automatic perception
• It’s a prediction machine
#1 IT’S A CONNECTION MACHINE
• Constantly making connections – millions per
second
• Seeking to understand new information by
comparing it to our existing maps
• An impasse occurs when we can’t reconcile
the maps
• We keep going over it until it is resolved
#2 NO TWO BRAINS ARE THE SAME
• 100 Billion neurons (nervous system building block)
• 100,000 dendrites (roots that receive information) per neuron
• 1 axon (the tree trunk passing on information)
• 300 trillion possible (constantly changing) connections
between neurons
• Connections between neurons, which are connected by
dendrites form the maps that guide our thoughts, behaviour
and action
# 3 IT HARDWIRES EVERYTHING IT CAN
• New ideas or behaviours use the working memory
• Working memory is a limited resource
• 20 minutes of concentration is the limit
• 4 bits of information leads to overload
• Brain prefers to hardwire repeated behaviours, thoughts, activities
• Significant effort required to leverage brains preference for hardwiring
• Autopilot comes into play
MEMORY TEST
•
Dream Night
•
Sleep
•
Snore
•
Artichoke
•
Snooze
•
Pillow
•
Insomnia
•
Mattress
•
Blanket
•
Night
•
Tired
•
Sheet
•
Night
•
Nod
•
Alarm
•
Nap
#4 HARD WIRING DRIVES AUTOMATIC
PERCEPTION
• We perceive the world according to our mental
maps which are hardwired
• As a result – we perceive the world according
to our beliefs & attitudes instead of seeing
things as they are or as they could be
• We can override this hardwiring and
consciously influence our perceptions but it
takes time
WHAT DO YOU SEE?
WHAT DO YOU SEE?
WHAT DO YOU SEE?
WHAT DO YOU SEE?
WHAT DO YOU SEE?
DOWNSIDES OF HARDWIRING
• People tend to fight to hold onto their views of the world
• When external realities change, internal realities often
don’t change as quickly
• Groups of people will see the same situation differently
as we are all wired differently.
• Some peoples maps could be out of date
#5 ITS PRACTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO
DECONSTRUCT OUR HARDWIRING
• Our connections define our we see & approach the world – our perceptions, the choices we
make, the results. we create for ourselves.
• To transform our safety performance we need to modify our connections
• But…..its practically impossible to deconstruct our hardwiring
• Deep analysis isn’t helpful
• Basic awareness is necessary first step – what we do after initial awareness it crucial
• THE KEY IS NOT TO TRY TO CHANGE THE HABIT. LEAVE IT WHERE IT IS & CREATE A
NEW HABIT – BACKED BY ATTENTION.
# 6 IT’S A PREDICTION MACHINE
I cnduo’t bvleiee that I culod aulaclty uesdttannrd what I was
rdnaieg. Unisg the icneblire pweor of the human mnid, aocdcrnig
to rseecrah at Cmabridge Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mttaer in what
oderr the lterets in a wrod are, the olny irpoamtnt thing is that the
frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rhgit pclae
WHY USE NEUROSCIENCE
IN SAFETY?
• 90% of human behaviour is driven by
the unconscious mind
• Working memory (Conscious)
• Hardwiring (unconscious)
• Difference between conscious & nonconscious parts of brain distinguished
by the state we are in.
CONSCIOUS VS UNCONSCIOUS MIND LEVELS OF LEARNING
• Unconscious incompetence – we don’t know what we don’t know (blissful ignorance)
• Conscious incompetence – we recognise deficit & value of new skill in addressing that
• Conscious Competence – we know how to do something – however demonstrating requires
concentration
• Unconscious Competence – we no longer need to think about it. (Autopilot)
THE BRAIN AS PPE
• It gives us the tools to enable
us to work with individuals on
their personal ‘hard wired’
thoughts, actions & beliefs.
This enables new desired
ways of thinking & behaving
which creates a positive safety
culture
QUESTIONS?
CONTACT US
Insync Workplace Solutions
Level 57, MLC Centre
19-29 Martin Place
SYDNEY, NSW, 2000
PH: 1800 INSYNC | + 612 8544 1837
www.insyncworkplacesolutions.com.au
[email protected]