We’re not the rational beings we like to think we are. The truth is that our brains prefer not to think if they don’t have to, with as much as 90% of the information we use to make decisions coming from our subconscious mind.
We’ve got a built in “credibility receptor” hard-wired into our brains. The amygdala sends warning signals when it detects suspicious behavior, just one of our many survival mechanisms designed to steer us clear of potential danger (or potentially unworthy brands!)
There’s a distinct set of circuits in the brain that is responsible for telling stories about oneself and the world. Part of our biological evolution relies on storytelling (think cave drawings), meaning we are naturally predisposed to sharing real or fictional accounts of events with other people.
Our brain strives for consistency, trying as hard as hard as it can to create order out of chaos. Congruence—a state of agreement or harmony—is the ultimate goal, thus explaining that pleasant feeling when things make sense and that “something isn’t right” feeling when we get when they don’t.
Vision takes up about half of the brain’s resources. We’re pre-wired to process information first and foremost through sight, our eyes quite literally the windows to the world.
Our other senses are directly linked to our feelings. Through hearing, smell, taste, and touch, we engage with our positive (or negative) emotions instantly and intuitively, making sensory stimuli a truly touchy-feely experience.
Actions really do speak louder than words. Behavior is the key to learning and memory—the brain much prefers to take part in some activity rather than just being told about it.
When it comes to retaining information, frequent bursts of information that require minimal attention work better than infrequent bursts that require high levels of attention (like Superbowl ads!) Repetition, and lots of it, pushes stimuli into automatic processing mode, making it more likely we’ll remember it.
BONUS: Context is at least as important as content when it comes to processing information. How you say something matters more than what you say, in other words, the brain highly sensitive to associations, feelings, and relationships.
