PSYCHOLOGY

Are you suffering from “main character syndrome”? 🤩

As more and more people broadcast their entire lives online, accusations of influencers thinking they’re the “main character” are getting louder and louder – but it isn’t just influencers that suffer from this terrible affliction. You might too, and it’s actually entirely natural! A leading theory in psychology suggests that human minds understand the world through narratives: stories the mind composes about a person’s experiences, feelings, and thoughts.

Think about your life: who are the people that matter most to you? What do you enjoy doing, and what would you like to avoid? When answering these questions, your mind unconsciously draws upon all sorts of experiences unique to you, some of which you may even have forgotten. You may have answered, for instance, that one of your friends matters most to you, but you probably won’t have thought of a logical justification. It was just something you knew. That’s because over time, your mind has registered your experiences with that person and woven them into a story about your relationship with them, a story that says they matter to you. What’s most interesting is that some of your best moments together will have been forgotten, or at least not stored in your conscious.

Whenever you think of anything in your life, you engage with a story that’s been built up over time around you. So, you’re not really guilty of having “main character syndrome”, because you don’t really have a choice!

💡 Things to consider

• Different interpretations: Think about someone you really admire. Why do you admire them? You can probably offer some good reasons: they’re kind, they’re curious, they have a nice haircut. Unconsciously, your mind has taken these attributes and woven them into a positive story where this person is admirable. But imagine someone else looks at this person, and thinks they’re nerdy and they have a lame haircut. Is someone right in this scenario?

• Misrepresentation: Our minds are designed to order the world so that it makes sense to us, but they often assume simple explanations based on limited information. For example, the statement “a man killed his wife to assume her inheritance” sounds more likely than “a man killed his wife and assumed her inheritance”, because the former is tied within a story. The killer has a motivation and the result reflects that. But the second is actually much more likely to occur, because the man has more possible motivations. What implications might this have for sectors like finance and justice, where making predictions and piecing together evidence are essential?

• How we look at events: We can use our knowledge of narratives to change the way we relate to things that happen in our lives. Imagine a student, disappointed by their result in a mock exam. They’re beginning to think of themselves as a failure, and will proceed into future exams without even bothering to prepare. Could they think of their mock exam in a different way, so that their story isn’t one of consistent failure, but one of redemption?

🔎 Find out more

• Anderson, H. and Goolishian, H. (1992). The client is the expert: A not-knowing approach to therapy.

• How does the mind use stories to create meaning?

• How can stories misinterpret events? The Black Swan by Nassim Taleb

🍒 The cherry on top

• 📰 Post-Truth: What is truth in a world of TikTok conspiracies, fake news, and anti-science soundbites? This podcast dives into the idea of post-truth — what it is, how it differs from lying or bullshitting, and whether we’re really beyond truth or just drowning in too many of them. Great for anyone exploring Philosophy or Politics.

• 🧨 Why Things Go Bang: Explosions aren’t just the stuff of action films: they’re surprisingly varied, and often more scientific than cinematic. This article dives into the science (including the forensics!) behind what really happens when things go boom — from fireworks and gas leaks to flour dust and nuclear fusion. Great if you’re into Chemistry or Physics!

• 🌳 Sustainable Cities: What happens when cities become the solution to sustainability, rather than the cause of it? Join Professor James Evans, whose specialism focuses on the development of smarter and more sustainable cities, to explore these issues in this podcast. Great if you’re into Geography.

👀 Keep your eyes peeled for…

• Wednesday 17th September

  • UEA Sociology Taster Webinar

• Thursday 18th September

  • Cambridge Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology Interview Webinar

  • UEA Religious Studies Taster Webinar

  • University of London Psychology Taster Webinar

  • University of Worcester Webinar on Red Blood Cells

• Monday 22nd September

  • Cambridge Law Interview Webinar

  • Cambridge Medicine Interview Webinar

  • Cambridge Music Interview Webinar

🗳️ Poll