Ep 191  |  Taylor Guthrie

How Do You Become Who You Want to Be?: The Science Behind Identity, Purpose, and Motivation

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The Great Simplification

Description

Our personal concept of identity shapes every decision we make – ranging from life-altering choices to our smallest daily preferences. Identity influences our values, the relationships we build, and how we respond to an increasingly unpredictable world, whether in constructive or destructive ways. But how are these identities formed, and how might we take a more deliberate role in cultivating a healthy sense of self – and therefore a healthier way of relating to the world?

In this episode, Nate is joined by social neuroscientist Taylor Guthrie to delve into the neuroscience of identity, exploring how the brain constructs a sense of self and the implications for our modern societal challenges. They discuss the role of values and personal narrative in identity formation, the impact of technology and consumerism on self-perception, and the distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as they relate to purpose and success. 

How is today’s consumer culture undermining our ability to actively participate in the development of our own identities? Could a better understanding of how we think about ourselves be key to fostering better relationships with others? Ultimately, how could purposeful reflection – about who we are and who we want to be – lead to lives that are richer in connection, community, and fulfillment? 

About Taylor Guthrie

Taylor D. Guthrie, PhD, is a social cognitive neuroscientist who studies how the human brain constructs a sense of self, both individually and in relationship with others. Taylor’s work bridges neuroscience, psychology, and culture. He investigates how attention and value systems interact with brain networks to form narrative identity – and how modern cultural forces like social media, status-seeking, and consumerism can hijack this process. 

Additionally, Taylor has earned the Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of Oregon. He also creates public-facing content, including The Cellular Republic, a lecture series that demystifies cognitive and social neuroscience. Now preparing for a postdoctoral fellowship in the Netherlands, Guthrie continues to explore how identity transformation – at both individual and collective levels – could support meaningful responses to today’s ecological, psychological, and cultural challenges.

In French, we have a motto that says that a simple drawing is often better than a long explanation. Jean-Marc Jancovici Carbone 4 President

That’s very understandable because with left atmosphere thinking, one of the problems is that you see everything as a series of problems that must have solutions. Iain McGilchrist Neuroscientist and Philosopher

We can’t have hundreds and hundreds of real relationships that are healthy because that requires time and effort and full attention and awareness of being in real relationship and conversation with the other human. Nate Hagens Director of ISEOF

This is the crux of the whole problem. Individual parts of nature are more valuable than the biocomplexity of nature. Thomas Crowther Founder Restor

Show Notes & Links to Learn More

Individual Resources:

 

00:00 – Taylor Guthrie, Works

03:27 – Social Cognitive Neuroscience

04:07 – The Neuroscience of Identity

04:47 – Structuralism

04:57 – Self-Relevance Effect, Related study

05:42 – Ventromedial prefrontal cortex, more information, Role in self-processing

06:12 – Study referenced on Individual Reference Frames

06:27 – Brain activity and blood flow

06:52 – Accuracy and Reliability

07:37 – Neuroeconomics, Value-based choice

08:17 – Equanimity

09:17 – Default Mode Network

10:12 – Temporal components of identity

11:22 – Self-regulation, Value systems

13:07 – Self-determination and intrinsic signals

15:47 – Synaptic pruning and child development

16:42 – Neuroplasticity and aging

18:06 – Default Mode Network organization unique to humans

18:27 – Default Mode Network and Temporal Integration

19:07 – Origin of Default Mode Network

21:42 – Feedback Loops

22:02 – Cybernetics (Cybernetical Neuroscience), Control Theory (Neuroscience and Control Theory)

25:39 – Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation

27:57 – Ego Depletion Effect and its debunking

28:37 – Study referenced on Default Mode Network

31:07 – Motivation and Addiction

31:37 – Lonelier than we ever have been despite being globally connected

32:37 – Association between Trauma and Addiction

33:39 – The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Internet Addiction should be included

34:36 – Robert Sapolsky (TGS Episode), On Dopamine intermittence and expectation

36:02 – Dopamine (reward driver), Habituation and Tolerance, Frankly that references it

37:02 – How 9-5 work life hinders personal development

37:17 – Elliot Burkman, Identity Model, studies of Identity vs. Goals

41:02 – The importance of Attention in Intrinsic Motivation, Reflexive attention

42:07 – Someone on their phone immersed in nature meme

43:57 – Salience (neuroscience)

45:22 – Viktor Frankl, alleged quote, origins of the quote

46:42 – The Will vs.The Way

47:37 – “Planfulness”

48:27 – Homeostasis

48:47 – Insula and the human species

49:47 – Group Dynamics, What makes a group successful

50:42 – Émile Durkheim and Gordon Allport – on groups

51:07 – Dialectic

51:47 – Neural synchrony

52:07 – Functional near-infrared spectroscopy

52:22 – Carolyn Parkinson, Similar neural responses predict friendship

53:37 – Mirror neurons

53:47 – Entrainment

54:22 – Early vertebrates have similar brain regions as early vertebrates, Single origin of the brain

54:27 – The Brain Is Adaptive Not Triune  

54:47 – Phylogenetic refinement

55:07 – Frontal lobe

56:27 – Groupthink, Asch Conformity Line Experiment

56:42 – Group Cohesion

1:02:17 – Social Comparison Processes (upward and downward)

1:04:27 – Emotions as signals

1:05:25 – Nietzsche perspective on self

1:06:06 – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Reframing

1:10:17 – Healthy groups have normative structure

1:10:57 – The missed opportunity of adolescence

1:12:37 – Netherlands Communal Values, Lower addiction and teen pregnancy rates

1:13:05 – Importance of healthy risks in adolescence, Rat playground experiment

1:14:02 – Power of the frontal lobe, Long-horizon thinking is vital

1:14:37 – Addiction and frontal lobe dysregulation

1:15:37 – Dan McAdams Narrative work

1:16:17 – Redemptive Arc and Contamination — 2 main reactions to trauma

1:17:09 – Growth mindset

1:17:24 – Stuart Smalley on “Saturday Night Live” — Daily Affirmations

1:18:02 – Neuroplasticity

1:22:32 – Nietzsche’s take on “Thou shalts”

1:22:57 – Somatic processing

1:23:27 – The Cellular Republic

1:27:37 – Slavoj Žižek

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