Diversity: Epigenetic Factors

Epigenetic factors are the biases, prejudices, and fears passed from one generation to the next. (Villoldo 2010).


Along with hair color, shape of nose, length of legs, we inherit a great deal of our thinking from our families. Carolyn Myss compares communities that are ethnically and culturally similar to tribes. Being strongly identified with a tribe means that some percentage of the individual's thoughts and actions are dictated by the tribe.


Here's an example, many white teens raised in small Mid-Western, rural towns choose to become Republican and Christian as adults, which reflects the dominant paradigm of their community. As children, we cannot fully comprehend politics, religion, and philosophy so we default to expressing the same views as our parents and other nearby role models. Even adult tribe members don't often take time to consider religion, politics, and philosophy to any great length. It is more efficient to default to the tribe, or often to the leader of the tribe. Believing that the leader is responsible and accountable and leaving the details to him is a justification for reduced consciousness, reduced awareness.


The epigenetic factors passed from generation to generation are patterns because the complex of biases, prejudices, and fears take the form of neural networks (see pic) which have been reinforced by each generation and then validated throughout one's own life as we "see that which we expect to see" of others.

Socialization is the process of being introduced to the thought constructs of our parents. It's the replication of neural circuitry from generation to generation. We are introduced to our parents thought constructs in the simply course of daily living. For efficiency and survival we are programmed to largely trust and accept these ideas. And that helps us fit in with the tribe. Around the age in which the young leave the family home there is a window of opportunity in which rebellion and differentiation from the parents may include becoming aware of and rejecting inherited thought patterns. Other opportunities to notice and reject social programming arise throughout adulthood. Frequently in the form of negative feedback.

As we journey to the center of the Civil Rights system it is important we maintain awareness of the concept of epigenetic factors. I suspect that the replication of neural circuitry among tribe members who share thought constructs produces an electromagnetic resonnance which increases the gravity of that thought construct.

The beliefs we share with our family and our community of choice produce a sense of cohesion, safety, and trust. These beliefs are interwoven with sentiments such as care for and appreciation of our community. The sensitivity around epigenetic factors is this: When we invite someone to notice their own subconscious attitudes and actions they may discover incongruence. The individual may discover that her subconscious attitudes and actions are not at all in alignment with her values. This can be quite shocking and a big part of the threat is that it calls into question one's loyalty to the tribe.

It has only been five or six generations since Americans owned slaves. It has only been three generations since Germany sought to exterminate Jews. Some epigenetic factors are connected to actual trauma experienced by recent ancestors. Passing down fear of enemies is a survival instinct.

Delving into this lake of the collective subconscious with the intention of understanding why our workforce does not reflect the population demographics of the American public will require sensitivity, respect, trust, and honor. (gulp)

Exploring Groupthink

A reader recently posted a comment about whether Amygdala Hijacking might not be connected to the phenomenon of groupthink. I felt it was a great question and worthy of a new post. First, let me share my definitions for both. The amygdala is a tiny little part of the brain which is responsible for scanning one's emotional memories and creating an emotional reaction to a certain stimulus. The amygdala is fast and has the ability to catalyze a reaction even before the cortex (higher logical mind) has the chance to think everything through. Sometimes the amygdala locks in on an emotional memory and catalyzes a reaction that our higher logical mind would not have chosen, thus leading to the idea of "amygdala hijacking".

To put it in another really plain way, amygdala hijacking is the same as jumping to conclusions and getting all freaked out before having the facts.

Groupthink names the phenomenon of a group of people making a collective choice which sometimes goes against what the individual members of the group would have selected on their own. It is akin to the idea of mob mentality - when large crowds become possessed by some drive and the result is often violent. Wikipedia says Groupthink is a type of thought exhibited by group members who try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without critically testing, analyzing, and evaluating ideas.

While amygdala hijacking certainly steers individuals off course from time to time, might this also somehow play a role in groups? I think the answer is yes. If the group of people have a shared history and shared experiences then they could just as easily have shared scar tissue around past experiences which went poorly. When a new situation occurrs which is remarkably similar to one of these bad memories there is a strong chance that individuals will experience amygdala hijacking and start to have a negative emotional reaction to the present event -- even if logically it really isn't the same as the bad memory.

But, what I think is even more interesting than an aggregation of individuals each having their own melt down due to amygdala hijacking is the dynamic interplay of their emotional energies in the present moment. Allow me to expand...

When someone near you is angry, stressed, or worried it is easy for that feeling to rub off on you and others. That is because when a person is having a negative emotional experience their Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is a chaotic wave which is expressed in the electromagnetic frequency of the heart. Our bodies perceive the electromagnetic frequency of our own heart and take cues on how to behave based on this information. The Institute of HeartMath has demonstrated in their scientific research that the elecromagnetic frequency of the heart can be measured up to 8 feet away. If your body takes cues from your own heart's electromagenetic frequency then isn't it possible for your body to perceive the electromagnetic frequency of another's heart?

We've all seen it happen. Sometimes when you walk into a room you just know that there has been an argument. You can feel the anger in the room even as you enter.

To circle back around to groupthink; because of the shared history individuals can each have a stressful reaction to a new event, AND then the negative reaction can be amplified because several individuals are all having a negative reaction at the same time. Sometimes we sacrifice our individual wisdom in order to keep the peace and avoid the kinds of drama which have occurred in the past.

Sometimes smart people get together and produce illogical results. Sometimes the individual doesn't have the courage to speak up and instead just goes with the flow. Sometimes everyone is that individual and everyone goes with the flow instead of speaking up. In my profession we call this "Going to Abilene" because of a training film by the same name. Four people go to Abilene, Texas, for ice cream and have a miserable time. Later they discover that none of them ever wanted to go in the first place.

Groupthink, or Going to Abilene, is evident in families, organizations, and society. There could be entire chapters of history - dark and traumatic chapters even - which could be the product of groupthink. And all because the gravity and sway of group mentality is sometimes larger and more powerful than individual commitment and courage. This leads me toward exploring The Hero's Quest and why fierce individualism and corageous leadership by one individual is the archetypal solution for Going to Abilene... but that's a whole 'nother post alltogether!