For decades, philosophy students have been working on the “tram problem”. The scenario is familiar: a crazy tram rushes towards five people. You can pull a lever to divert it to a lane where only one person is. What are you doing ? If, on paper, many coldly choose to sacrifice one individual to save five, the reality is quite different.
From imagination to reality… Very different
A recent study by Dr. Dries H. Bostyn, published in the
Journal of Personality and Social Psychologyconfronted participants with real consequences (electric shocks).
Result ? Theoretical predictions correspond very little to actual actions. “The reason is obvious: we have a lot of research where people think abstractly about what they would do. If we want to trust this research, then we also need to explore what people actually do.” explains the researcher.
Why are our forecasts wrong?
In the laboratory, when faced with real people, the brain abandons pure logic for emotion. Where the hypothesis proposes faceless strangers, reality imposes looks, hesitations and a palpable vulnerability.
The study shows that when faced with reality, we become “disordered”. Some people change their minds at the last moment, not out of logic, but to try to distribute the suffering more “fairly”. As Dr. Bostyn points out: “Hypothetical dilemmas have no consequences, so why make a “difficult” decision?“Morality is not a fixed rule, it is an emotional memory that reacts to the immediate context.
Overthinking: when thinking runs in vain
This gap between prediction and reality is found in our daily lives through overthinking or rumination, in plain French. We repeat conversations, imagine breakups or conflicts, thus thinking of protecting ourselves. However, the opposite is happening.
For psychologist Siyana Mincheva, this phenomenon of “restless thinking” is a trap. “It is a phenomenon that blocks our mind by filling it with unnecessary anxieties, fears and worries. It’s how you manage your thoughts that will make the difference.”
By wanting to anticipate everything, we create a false sense of control that collapses at the slightest unexpected event, because the version of ourselves that plans is not the one that will be under the emotional pressure on the big day.
5 tips from a psychologist to stop ruminations
Siyana Mincheva offers concrete ways to escape this mental prison:
- Acknowledge rumination. Identify when your thinking loops. “The more importance you give to a concern, the more it will occupy your mind“, warns the expert;
- Let go of control. Accept that many elements will always escape your vigilance. Obsessive anticipation is an illusion of security;
- Practice detachment. Ask yourself the right questions:Do I tell myself stories because my fears are omnipresent?” ;
- Change your thinking. Negativism blurs discernment and on the contrary, cultivating a more positive approach frees action;
- Consult a professional. If anxiety becomes generalized, psychological monitoring helps correct these cognitive distortions.
“It is not the thought itself, but our level of belief in that thought that is at issue” concludes Siyana Mincheva, quoting psychiatrist Marine Colombel. “You have to work on putting these thoughts back in their rightful place…demerge from them to reduce anxiety.”