[TT 029] moral foundations, mental health tech, microexpressions, psychedelic software, flower art
Hey there Thrivers,
Ever had the experience where it's hard to balance all the priorities? I've prioritized connection building, career preparation, and school work at the expense of self-care and it's starting to show. Will definitely take some time to rest and reset this weekend.
With that, on to this week's Thriving Thursday.
On mastering the art of ethics and persuasion
Synthesizing work from Jonathan Haidt (The Righteous Mind), Joshua Greene (Moral Tribes), and Paul Bloom (Just Babies: The Origins of Good & Evil), my ethics professor Ken Shotts writes that there are 6 dimensions that inform most moral intuitions:
- Harm
- Fairness
- Loyalty
- Authority
- Purity
- Liberty
Interestingly, in the US, liberals tend to rely on different moral foundations than conservatives. Liberals (and generally more Western, urban, or pro-individualistic cultures) tend to weigh 1 & 2 heavier whereas conservatives (and generally more non-Western, rural, or pro-larger social unit) tend to lean in more to 3, 4, & 5.
To dialogue with and persuade others effectively, we must first understand what moral foundations and expressions of those core values our own and our peer's ethical intuitions. Then, if we stand any chance at all of the inspiring change in others, we must communicate desired positions or outcomes effectively in their value system. Turns out, most people don't care what or how I think - they only care how I can reflect what they value back to them.
I don't have any data to support this, but my intuition suggests that this becomes more exaggerated in vulnerable environments with high-stakes cognitive dissonance. In other words, in areas where people have negative self-narratives or a sense of lack of self-worth, communicating with compassion includes connecting at the level of their values.
As I consider accessible and impactful offerings for people who seek Thriving, keying into moral foundations and core values will be a critical step to supporting their journey.
On the weaving of mental health and technology
One of my active areas of inquiry for post-graduate school work is the intersection of mental health and technology. There is some stunning work being done and I believe 5-10 years from now there will be a cadre of new tech-enabled tools and offerings.
Of course, brilliant folks at Stanford are in on the game. The Brainstorm: Lab for Mental Health Innovation has a star-studded list of leaders. I'll be learning more and, for my own interest, mapping the tech space of mental health in the coming months.
Random aside: there is an unreal sense of empowerment (entitlement?) that comes from being a graduate student at Stanford. We are actively encouraged to respectfully reach out to anyone important and it's wild how often we get warm, supportive responses. I sure do like it when others open doors for me ...
On the black magic of microexpressions
A number of times folks at school have commented that I'm a good listener and asked how I key into emotional responses so quickly. The answer is an innate human skill that I consciously practiced a decade ago: reading microexpressions.
Microexpressions are involuntary facial movements (sometimes only a fraction of a second long) that convey underlying emotional content (even if the speaker is unaware of that emotion). Turns out, there are 7 fundamental microexpressions:
- Happiness
- Sadness
- Disgust
- Surprise
- Contempt
- Anger
- Fear
Think of these as primary colors that can be mixed and matched. The face can express elements of anger, surprise, and sadness all at once or in quick succession. Seeing, and sensing, these emotions quickly can create a potent tool to connect quickly and intimately with what a person is thinking and feeling beyond what they're saying.
Perhaps most importantly, the skill of recognition can be trained with simple practice. Paul Ekman, the researcher who coined the term "microexpression", even sells software tools (similar to what CIA and other law enforcement use for interrogation training) for laypeople to train their speed and accuracy of recognition. I'm not sure how they've evolved in the last decade, but back when I was practicing it was glorified flashcards that were shown for short blips on the screen (and decreased in time as accuracy grew).
I'll never forget the moment I stopped actively training this skill. A woman I was dating loudly exclaimed, "Stop reading my mind!! You're doing that micro manipulation thing and I hate it when you do that". Granted, I wasn't being super tactful or considerate, but it made me realize the dark side of using this tool. Paul Ekman shares similar moral reservations in his piece on the Dangers of Reading Microexpressions.
If you do choose to study microexpressions, I have no doubt you'll find it stunningly powerful in how you connect with and understand others. Just please wield this power tool with care and respect.
On electronic health records (EHRs) in the psychedelic-assisted mental health
When you go to a doctor at a hospital or clinic in the US, they are legally required to track your medical records electronically. The system they use is called an Electronic Health Record (EHR) or Electronic Medical Record (EMR) software.
To the best of my knowledge, mental health professionals are not required to use EHRs by law. But digital records have structural benefits for easier billing, redundant retention policies, client privacy, and remote access so it's no surprise that there are a lot of EHR softwares targeted to therapists.
I was surprised, though, when I saw the first EHR targeted to psychedelic-assisted therapies - osmind. They are mostly focused on ketamine therapies because it's the only legally available option, but I have no doubt they are building up their psilocybin workflows for when Oregon comes online.
Also, they recently raised $15M to build out their software and get ready for the wave of this industry. That is a lot of money and will give them a healthy head start on other entrants ...
Yet another sign that the therapeutic psychedelics industry is rapidly coming into focus for investors and entrepreneurs to build up the systems and services necessary for patient rollout.
On epic large scale flower art installations
One of the cooler and more evocative art collectives I've seen recently is called TeamLab. They are doing some really stunning installations all over the world, including their incredible Planets installation in Tokyo.
Can you believe these are all live orchid flowers?! Taking care of one is hard enough ...
For anyone visiting Tokyo, definitely don't miss out on this amazing installation!
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With a large installation of micro-moral persuasion,
~Henry