The neuroscience case for story
Thanks to a large body of neuroscience and behavioural economics research, it’s 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 combine to provide organisation leaders with some hard-nosed evidence that story is a powerful business tool. Proving too, it should be better and more strategically harnessed by enterprise, particularly to influence more market place minds than 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 it’s 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.)
With only 22 watts of electricity available to process about 11 million bits of data per second, the brain must process 95% of the information it scans automatically. This work gets done robotically in the brains highly evolved and very energy efficient unconscious by first joining dots narrative patterns and then snapping them to memorised reaction templates – in nanoseconds. (The instant recall and lighting fast application of proven behaviours spares the brain the expensive cost of conscious thought. And saves vast time.)
When the brain struggles to form a story pattern, its ability to sense cause and effect and pick memorised behaviour options gets hampered. And mental traction fails. Research published in the Neuropsychologia journal and in the Journal of Neurology show 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 brains ability to form coherent narratives, researchers discovered that when the brain can’t 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. Skinners “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 organises 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, as 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. These studies support the theory that the brain is hard-wired to process information in a narrative format because it requires and consumes less energy.
Information in story form runs on the minds cognitive cogs, friction-free.
Story influences the brain more.
A 2008 study by Grabowecky and Kasham also used fMRI to explore how the brain processes narratives. They found that when 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 experiences, making information presented in story form more retrievable (memorable) and impactful. An additional 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 that is 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 shows too that the story form triggers the release of oxytocin, a hormone that is associated with increased empathy, trust, and bonding. Which 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. And 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 wide range of studies provide compelling proof that the narrative structure is the most effective way to engage and influence the human mind.
Create a powerful brand story for your business.
FuseWorks help organisations like yours to create standout brand strategies and stories that influence the human mind. Use our narrative art, brand strategy expertise and behavioural science know-how to move more decisions and money in your direction. Mail info@fuseworks.co.za to chat about options. Or call on +27 83 2510716.
