Читать книгу Social-Emotional Learning and the Brain - Marilee Sprenger B. - Страница 10

The power of storytelling can be traced to the brain and its chemical reactions. Whether reading a story or listening to one, it appears that a specific cascade of chemicals is involved in the engagement. Think of yourself listening to a story. Because it is about something unknown, your brain releases the stress hormone cortisol. This release occurs not because of fear or anger but, rather, curiosity. You are ready for the novelty and perhaps suspense. Dopamine is also released to keep you focused on what is going to happen. Because this is a novel situation (an unknown story), you must be prepared for anything and remain on task until you know the ending. Novelty engages the brain because something novel may also be dangerous. Survival first! Dopamine rewards us by keeping us alert and getting to the goal—the end of the story. When we identify with characters in the story, oxytocin is released. Oxytocin is the trust chemical, the "friending juice" in the brain. It has often been described as the "love" or "cuddle" chemical. According to Paul Zak (2013), director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies and professor of economics, psychology, and management at Claremont Graduate University, experiments show that character-driven stories with emotional content result in a better understanding of key points and better recall of the information.

One of the primary questions I have sought to answer in this book is this: because storytelling is so powerful and memorable, what other strategies will cause the release of the same chemicals to provide lasting memories and good feelings? One answer that is addressed in this book is role-playing.