What We Value: How Your Brain Really Chooses with Emily Falk

Overview

This episode dives into the neuroscience behind decision-making with Emily Falk, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and author of What We Value. Falk explains how three brain systems—the value system, self-relevance system, and social-relevance system—interact to shape our choices. The conversation explores practical ways to optimize decision-making, the influence of social rewards, and how storytelling can drive behavior change. Personal anecdotes and research insights illuminate how understanding these systems can lead to more purposeful decisions and stronger connections with others.

Notable Quotes

- When liberals and conservatives in the U.S. watch the same news stories, their brains are more in sync with their in-groups and not as much in sync with their out-groups. - Emily Falk, on how political ideology shapes perception.

- I come over to your house, but we're not really spending time together. - Emily Falk's grandmother, sparking a shift in how Falk prioritized meaningful connection.

- If I do all of this, will you make me a certificate that says, 'Good job, Theo'? - Emily Falk's son, illustrating the power of social rewards over monetary incentives.

🧠 Understanding the Brain’s Decision-Making Systems

- Falk outlines three key systems:

- Value System: Integrates inputs to assign subjective value to options.

- Self-Relevance System: Determines whether something aligns with personal identity.

- Social-Relevance System: Helps understand others’ thoughts and feelings.

- Decisions unfold in phases: identifying options, assigning value, choosing, and learning from outcomes.

- Immediate rewards often outweigh long-term benefits due to biases in the brain’s value system.

🍎 Choices, Context, and Biases

- Falk explains how context shapes decisions, even for simple choices like picking between an apple and an orange.

- Factors like recent experiences, situational constraints, and attention influence subjective value calculations.

- She highlights systematic biases, such as prioritizing immediate rewards over delayed ones, and offers strategies to counteract them, like temptation bundling (pairing tasks with enjoyable activities).

👵 The Power of Social Connection

- Falk shares a pivotal moment with her 100-year-old grandmother, who expressed feeling disconnected despite frequent visits.

- This led Falk to rethink how she prioritized time and shifted her approach to create more meaningful interactions.

- Social rewards, like positive feedback and connection, are powerful motivators. Falk’s son preferred a handwritten certificate over monetary rewards, emphasizing the emotional impact of recognition.

📖 Storytelling vs. Facts in Behavior Change

- Falk’s research shows that stories are more effective than facts for influencing behavior.

- Example: People are more likely to act on health advice when presented as a narrative (e.g., John smoked for 30 years and developed lung cancer) rather than as raw data.

- Stories engage the brain’s social-relevance system, making information more relatable and memorable.

- Falk highlights cultural practices, such as Inuit storytelling, as effective tools for teaching emotional regulation and values.

📱 Social Media and Influence

- Neuroscience confirms that influencers can shape our preferences by altering reward calculations in the brain.

- Feedback from peers or influencers changes not just surface-level opinions but underlying value systems.

- Falk notes the amplified impact of influencers with large followings, underscoring their ability to drive behavior change.