Thanks to a large body of neuroscience and behavioural economics research, it is now very clear how heavily the human brain depends on the ordinary story form to make sense of data. And how much the simple narrative structure influences human decisions and behaviours. A series of dependable studies provides businesses with hard-nosed scientific evidence that the story is a powerful strategic tool. This proof should prompt companies to better and more strategically harness the story form, particularly to influence more marketplace minds than their rivals.
Here’s a summary of neuroscience’s interrogation of the story phenomena and key findings.
The brain relies on the story pattern to process data. Extensive studies by behavioural economist and Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman show that the brain employs the story pattern as its default sense-making and reaction engine because it doesn’t have the spare energy supply to do it any other way (Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, Fast and Slow).
Research published in the Neuropsychologia journal and in the Journal of Neurology shows how important the brain’s ability to form a narrative pattern is to decision-making and reactionary behaviour. By studying people with brain damage, cognitive disorders, and frontotemporal dementias that impair the brain’s ability to form coherent narratives, researchers discovered that when the brain cannot create a narrative pattern, goal-directed behaviours don’t happen.
A 2001 study by Zacks, Tversky, and Lyer used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to explore how the brain processes data. The researchers found that the mind recalls information in a prototypical narrative structure – even when the data is not structured as a story – indicating that the brain acts to transform data into a tale to interpret and apply it. In B.F. Skinner’s “Expectancy Violation Theory” experiment, participants were asked to briefly observe the random movements of a few basic geometric shapes on a screen and then describe them. The overwhelming majority of the respondents transformed the object movements into a narration by default (rather than recounting the literal sequences), indicating that the brain naturally organizes information into coherent patterns, or “stories,” to make sense of the world and predict it.
Information in a story form gets processed with cognitive ease. In a 2010 study by Schmidt, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to compare the brain activity of participants who listened to coherent stories compared to hearing a random list of related words. The neuroimaging revealed that the brain uses less energy to process information when it is presented as a coherent narrative or story, compared to when it is presented as isolated facts. In another study by van den Broek, Risden, and Kendeou, eye-tracking technology was used to investigate how the mind deals with information formed as a story compared to information not formed as a story. They found that when data was structured as a story, participants spent less time re-reading and more time processing new information. The study also found that the brain processed narrative information more efficiently and faster than other information forms.
A number of additional studies indicate that the brain uses less energy to process data in a story form. Research by J. M. Noelle, as well as a study by J. B. Bar and another by Stanislas Dehaene, used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure brain activity while participants listened to stories and lists of unrelated facts. The results, published in the NeuroImage and Neuron journals, showed that the brain used less energy when processing the stories, as evidenced by decreased activation in areas associated with effortful processing. Other studies have shown that when information is presented as a story, there is increased activation in brain regions involved in mental simulation and understanding the meaning of events, while other regions involved in effortful processing remain relatively inactive.
A 2008 study by Grabowecky and Kasham also used fMRI to explore how the brain processes narratives. They found that when the brain detects a story pattern, several brain regions fire up at the same time, including the auditory cortex, the visual cortex, and the regions responsible for processing emotions and memory (conversely, facts and figures only activated two areas of the brain). Neuroscientists now also know that when the brain hears a story, it processes the information as though it were a real-life experience, making information presented in story form more retrievable (memorable) and impactful.
A study by Keith Oatley confirmed that stories activate areas of the brain associated with empathy and emotional processing, while facts and figures do not. A story structure also sets up a neurochemistry that plays a role in learning and memory. When the brain processes a story, dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with reinforcement learning and memory formation, gets released. This suggests that stories may be more effective at helping the brain to remember and internalize new information than any other form of information presentation.
Additional studies prove that the brain stores stories in a holistic manner, with the different elements of the story being connected to each other. The web of interconnected associations between the different elements of the story stored make it easier for the brain to remember and recall the story as a whole. The research has also shown that different brain regions become active as the story progresses, suggesting that the brain processes stories in a hierarchical manner. The initial stages of a story may activate regions involved in attention and working memory, while later stages may activate regions involved in empathy and moral reasoning. Research also shows that the story form triggers the release of oxytocin, a hormone associated with increased empathy, trust, and bonding. This explains why stories have the ability to bring people together and create a sense of shared purpose and experience.
According to Zacks, Tversky, and Iyer (2001), the narrative structure of a story helps to hold people’s attention and keep them engaged, making them more likely to stay focused on the information being presented. In 1972, experiments by Bransford and Johnson found that people were far better able to recall information presented in a story format compared to the same information presented in a dry, factual manner. Research work by Green and Brock in 2000 found that people are more likely to be persuaded by information presented in a story format compared to the same information presented in a more straightforward manner.
The science provides compelling proof that the narrative structure is the most effective way for business to engage and influence the human mind.
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