Book Report - The Influential Mind

Moira Solano 

8/5/19 

Motivation 

Book Report 

The Influential Mind by author and neuroscientist, Tali Sharot discusses the relationship between the topic of influence and the brain. Sharot talks about how the human brain operates when people are being influenced and how they respond to it. The three main things she focuses on are how critical emotion in influence is, how weak data is, and how powerful curiosity is. Sharot discusses both good and bad influence. She discusses human behavior and explains the scientific reasons behind the way we act and think when being influenced.  

The prologue of the book discusses our role. A role we aren’t aware of and think about all the time. On the first page, it says, “This duty we all share is to affect others. We teach our children, guide our patients, advise our clients, help our friends, and inform our online followers. We do this because we each have unique experiences, knowledge, and skills that others may not. But how good are we at this role?” Sharot mentions how every thought we have ever had are powered by neurons in our brain. Understanding how our brains function will help us understand how we react to situations and the topic of persuasion. 

I would have to say my favorite part of the book is in chapter 2, “(Emotion) How We Are Persuaded to Reach for the Moon, The Incredible Sway of Emotion”. The section that stuck out to me within this chapter would have to be called, “Sharing the Love.” Sharot mentioned how she loves watching the Olympics because she believes it’s not really about who the greatest athletes are, but the emotions that are displayed during the games. I thought this quote on pages 44 and 45 was beautiful and it says, “My deep attraction to the games stems largely from the raw display of emotion: the pure happiness in the eyes of the woman who just crossed the finish line first, the tears of joy running down the face of the swimmer standing on the podium. Their happiness is contagious. You cannot help but smile when those faces on the screen do. Even the most aloof among us will find their eyes welling in response to winners’ and losers’ tears.” When we see others happy or sad or mad, we feel their emotions and we start to experience what they are feeling, regardless if we know them personally or not. People who you surround yourself with and you are around frequently, like family and friends, will instantly know how you are feeling based on how your face looks, how you sound, how your body looks, and how you speak. Sharing your feelings is easier than sharing ideas because it allows you to open up to people and show that you are vulnerable in that moment. 

 

The chapter I felt was the most related to the topics that we discussed in class would be chapter 4, “(Agency) How You Obtain Power by Letting Go, The Joy of Agency and the Fear of Losing Control”. The section within this chapter called, “Removing Control” made me think about how losing control and maintaining self-control go hand in hand. Losing control and not being able to have it is hard for people to accept. There is no way to do anything, but endure in it, and you feel trapped. Trying to have self-control over something and not giving into it is also hard to accept. In this situation, you have this choice to either ignore the impulsive choice or give in to it, and your choice will determine the outcome. I feel as though this quote on page 83 explains the feelings people have when they have a lack or no control over something, and it says, “Most people become stressed and anxious when their ability to control their environment is removed. This is why many people prefer sitting in the driver’s seat rather than the passenger’s seat, and also why we feel anxious when we are stuck in traffic, unable to move.” I feel like this example is relatable because being stuck in traffic can trigger anxiety and stress, especially because you can’t do anything about the situation and have to sit it out quite literally until it clears up over time. 

I really enjoyed learning about these topics in this book. Tali Sharot did an amazing job explaining not only how the brain functions but talking about real-life stories and experiences that she went through in order to tie in the concept of the book. I’m going to take these topics to heart because it made me think about how I am personally influenced and how my thoughts are being processed based on the information I was given. It’s also fascinating how we don’t fall into certain types of persuasions than others. It’s like we don’t give in due to past experiences or we just have the wits to know that this is a trap. I highly recommend reading this book because it really makes you think about your own thoughts and influences and how you influence people. I think this book will help people become more aware of not only themselves, but also the people around them and the media because I feel as though the media is a huge influence on how we act and think.