The Possibility of Cognitive Kindness
[Music]
imagine you’ve been diagnosed with a
serious illness
perhaps even a life-threatening one
you’re scheduled for a series of
appointments on the same day for some
lab work and scans and then to see a
specialist
you navigate your way through traffic
finding the correct parking garage and
then a parking spot
now how to get to your first appointment
you make your way through a maze of
hallways and eventually find the waiting
room
you’re given various forms to complete
with details of your medical history and
other information primary care
physicians name
address and phone number previous
hospitalizations and surgeries if any
with dates and hospitals is all of this
information
really needed and needed right now at
last it’s your turn for the actual lab
work and scans
and then you find your way to the
doctor’s office more forms to complete
much of the same information as before
and then you wait
and wait you wonder if there’s time to
grab something to eat
but decide you’d better stay put you’re
so hungry
eventually you’re called in and the
nurse asks about your medical history
again after answering still more
questions the doctor arrives
she describes your test results and what
they mean
unfortunately the medical evidence isn’t
clear on a best course of treatment she
says
and goes on to describe several possible
options
you do your best to understand and
remember what she’s telling you
it’s a lot of information including some
that seems to conflict with what you
read about online
do you have questions she asks you ask
the ones you’ve written down in advance
then you try to review what she just
told you to figure out if you have any
others
you also realize there’s no way you’ll
be back in time for that scheduled
meeting or for dinner
and that you need to find a moment to
let your colleagues and your family know
the doctor says they can get you
scheduled for next steps depending on
which treatment you decide to pursue
you’re not sure whether to laugh to cry
or to actually try to make a decision
some years ago i was in a similar
situation
there were tears uncertainty and
confusion
the decisions to be made seemed so
daunting and so important
with no clear recommendation from the
doctor i needed to make them and yet my
thinking felt so muddled
even basic information processing felt
challenging
let alone more complex decision-making
compare that with my daughter and her
friends who at the time were as
inquisitive as three-year-olds can be
their minds were generating new and
elaborate ideas
stories and conjectures at a seemingly
astounding rate
imagining and discovering all sorts of
possibilities
and my mind in the midst of those
critical medical decisions it felt so
very far away from that not incapable
and yet incapable
reflecting on that time and others since
i’ve often wondered how we might
redesign
systems and processes how we might
reimagine
relationships and interactions in ways
that help us all to think more easily
clearly
and effectively because good thinking
deep nuanced and creative thinking is
arguably
what we need most it’s what personal
problems organizational issues and
complex societal challenges all demand
and it’s what we neglect at our peril
crises such as the pandemic have only
made that all the more clear
in my field the birth of modern day
cognitive psychology
is often referred to as the cognitive
revolution
that revolution elevated the study of
thought within the field
of psychology we need nothing short of a
new cognitive revolution
one that elevates thinking not just
within a field of study
but within our lives a revolution
centered on what i call cognitive
kindness
so what is cognitive kindness let’s
start with kindness
when people talk about kindness they
often mention generosity
and helping others without expecting
anything in return
they speak of empathy compassion care
and even love
cognitive refers to all that our minds
can do
including our amazing abilities to
reason and understand
to imagine and create to dream and
design
to envision and enact cognitive kindness
then
is about bringing generosity and caring
to how we treat one another’s thinking
it’s about being kind to minds
it’s a radically different form of
kindness one that’s powerfully informed
by research
and what it reveals about how our minds
work
and so it’s kindness that’s more likely
to be powerfully effective
cognitive kindness is about
intentionally approaching what we do
with one another’s thinking as a key
consideration
perhaps as the key consideration rather
than as an afterthought
something taken for granted or something
entirely ignored
at its best cognitive kindness not only
recognizes
but respects liberates and empowers the
full cognitive potential of others
it’s pretty striking in fact we seem to
recognize the importance of treating
resources such as money and time with
care
not that we always do we need only look
at some of our purchases
or the amount of time we spend in
meetings to realize that
and yet we aren’t particularly attentive
to or even
aware of how we spend our own and others
mental resources even education
the arena supposedly dedicated to
thinking and learning and what is
possible
fails in many ways to prioritize the
cognitive resources and potential
of students teachers and staff and yet
our minds may be our most precious and
powerful resource of all
kindness then being kind to minds can be
the difference between whether we
as individuals and societies fail or
flourish how might we translate this
principle
into action first it’s worth noting that
when aiming to be kind to someone else’s
mind
it’s important to proceed from an
accurate understanding of how thinking
actually works
an understanding centered on scientific
evidence
in all its details and possibilities
that’s a tall order
but it turns out many of us bring some
valuable intuitions
ones at least somewhat aligned with the
research evidence
to the task for example research
demonstrates resoundingly that there are
limits to the number of things our minds
can work effectively with
at any given time and while we may be
a bit deluded about exactly what that
limit is
most of us at least realize that some
limit exists
that’s a useful starting point that we
can expand on
we might envision our minds as gardens
in which a variety of ideas and
imaginings can take root and flourish
and what influences and grows in these
gardens goes beyond the purely
intellectual
research tells us that our physical
abilities our social interactions
and our emotions all depend on and
impact our mental life
they too are part of the garden a garden
is not unbounded
there’s limited land nutrients and water
to go around
yet with care and intention to the
timing and distribution of those
resources
we can cultivate a thriving and
sustainable ecosystem
an ecosystem of ideas that nourish each
other while offering
fertile ground for new possibilities by
reducing unnecessary demands on our
cognitive resources we essentially
eradicate
invasive weeds that would otherwise
usurp space
nutrients and sunlight and we liberate
those resources
instead toward thoughts and ideas that
might bear fruit
or enrich the soil even this single
understanding gives rise to a number of
ways to be more cognitively kind
let’s return to the hospital to see how
that might work
the hospital is a pretty important
context one where
life and death decisions are being made
and one where ideally everyone’s
thinking is at its best
and yet our current systems and
processes don’t necessarily facilitate
that
for patients and families or for that
matter for doctors nurses and other
hospital staff
what if someone parked your car for you
as a matter of course
or if a parking spot were reserved for
you based on your schedule of
appointments
what if someone greeted you directly at
the hospital entrance and asked what you
might need help with
what if you were provided more
information about what to expect in
advance
or asked to supply only the information
that was truly necessary
and the doctor actually had time to
carefully consider it before your
appointment
what if information were shared more
effectively across offices and hospitals
what if the layout of the hospital
itself were more helpful to your
processing and navigating
i’ve been to a hospital branch that’s
housed in what was formerly a shopping
mall
preserving that basic layout think about
the configuration and goals of a typical
shopping mall
it’s open with high visibility of what’s
available not to mention often
pretty ample parking right remarkably
different from a maze of parking garages
and winding hallways
right more cognitively kind
right what if tasks were allocated or
reconfigured so that your doctor could
direct her attention to you
rather than to typing what you’re saying
into the computer medical record system
what if your doctors and nurses had
schedules that actually allowed for
sufficient and regular
sleep meals and breaks not to mention
the mental energy and space to think not
only about what to tell you
but how to tell you of course these are
just a few suggestions some better than
others even in this one context there
are many more possibilities for
cognitive kindness
just as there are many ways to free up
nutrients and space in a garden
there are many ways to liberate mental
resources for
others including presenting information
in a way that’s easier to understand
restructuring a task
reassigning a responsibility eliminating
a task entirely
or perhaps even relaxing expectations
and standards
imagine that and there are even more
possibilities because freeing up
cognitive resources isn’t the only way
to be
cognitively kind in fact we’ve really
only scratched the surface here
considering just
one research finding and in very general
terms at that
research reveals so much more that can
be creatively marshaled toward cognitive
kindness
thinking can also be eased and improved
by making it more accurate
more efficient more creative more
thorough more expansive
research tells us that sometimes this
might involve
giving people more information to
process requiring more time
and encouraging more thinking not less
what’s more cognitively kind may vary
across circumstances and individuals
in part due to differences in goals
personalities knowledge
and other factors and yet the
fundamental assertions
of cognitive kindness are clear and
unwavering
first our cognitive abilities and
resources are among
our most valuable assets and second
each of us has the power and
responsibility
to prioritize the thinking of others in
what we do
and design fundamentally
cognitive kindness is more than any
single act
it’s a philosophy that elevates the
value of our minds and the possibilities
they represent
it asks us to consider what we do in the
context of how it affects the ability of
others
to use their minds as fully as they wish
toward what they wish cognitive kindness
reminds us that
true inclusivity is more than simply
offering someone a seat at the table it
requires
intentionally designed interactions
processes and spaces that actually
empower each person’s full cognitive
potential
it’s about no less than cognitive
justice
kindness orients us to others returning
to the hospital
what is it like to be a patient who is
perhaps also
a wife mother daughter sister friend
and teacher navigating her way through
multiple options
multiple forms financial considerations
and emotions
amidst the myriad other aspects of her
life
and what about the doctors and nurses
who put their all into caring for
patients and whose lives
encompass so much more beyond the
hospital walls
from everyday tasks like laundry and
meals
to more challenging matters such as
parenting and the physical and mental
health of their own families
not to mention navigating possible bias
and discrimination that can turn even
common everyday decisions like where and
when to go for a run
into life and death ones what
information is each person trying to
process and juggle
cognitive kindness urges us to find out
or at least imagine
and then to use that understanding to
facilitate the thinking of others
what cognitive kudzu can we eradicate or
prevent from even taking root in the
first
place what soil can we clear or amend
what might we shift to another garden
how might we let more light in
cognitive kindness also encourages us to
seek a deeper
more accurate understanding of how minds
in general work
that’s incredibly valuable knowledge in
and of itself
says the cognitive psychologist
especially because some of our
intuitions about how our thinking works
are pretty far off the mark and so we
highlight the importance
of continued research and of effective
communication
cognitively kind communication of what
that research reveals
in fact we might ask ourselves why we
don’t make more of an effort to teach
children and adults about their own
thinking
what might be possible if we did
cognitive kindness is powerfully
generative an investment from one or a
few people to say
take on family meal planning write a
clearer email
reconfigure an organization’s job
responsibilities or design
a national vaccine rollout and
communication plan
can liberate valuable mental energy for
anywhere
from one to tens hundreds or even
thousands of individuals
better thinking by those individuals can
in turn impact many others
and imagine the potential benefit to
collaborative efforts
when each individual brings even
slightly more cognitive capacity to the
table
we find ourselves in a time of
tremendous complexity challenge and
opportunity
significant long-standing issues such as
climate change systemic racism and
poverty
call out for our very best ideas and
thinking
clearly our cognitive resources
individual and collective have never
mattered more
and so cognitive kindness being kind to
one another’s minds
becomes in essence an imperative a
responsibility
how much of a difference can any single
act of cognitive kindness really make
a single act of cognitive kindness might
just free up
enough resources to facilitate the
sprouting of a seed
the birth of an idea and as ted and tedx
themselves highlight
ideas and their transformative power can
spread
what idea what ideas might a single
seemingly small act of cognitive
kindness enable
and it’s not just ideas that are
valuable even a
bit of liberated cognitive capacity
might mean
a better decision about a medical
treatment made an
accident avoided a sunset noticed and
appreciated
a parent more fully present with a child
let’s start that next cognitive
revolution one that applies an evolving
understanding of how our minds work
in ways that help each of us move toward
greater presence
creativity and insight across all
aspects of our lives
and society health care education voting
taxes meetings communication parenting
relationships everyday interactions and
more
what might be possible if we’re each
more cognitively kind
let’s find out