Confidence is an attractive and valuable quality to succeed in business, relationships, and life. But it is also a subjective and often misunderstood quality. What makes people think and feel what they think and feel about themselves? Authors of a new study report that they have uncovered brain activity patterns that are associated with confidence. Those researchers also say that people can be trained to have more confidence.
The new study used imaging techniques and a method of neural activation called ‘decoded neurofeedback’ to analyze the brain activity of participants. The participants engaged in simple perceptual and behavioral exercises that allowed the team of researchers to identify low-confidence and high-confidence brain patterns. Next, the participants were given a small monetary reward every time the researchers detected a high-confidence state. The participants also rated their own levels of confidence after the tasks. In the end, the participants unconsciously raised their levels of confidence, in real time, even though they were unaware of the manipulation.
Self-confidence is generally a belief in one’s own abilities. It is a complex internal, emotional state—influenced by a myriad of factors—that describes how we feel about ourselves. A lack of confidence can lead to shyness, social anxiety, lack of assertiveness, communication difficulties, and mental health problems. These factors can in turn negatively impact activity levels, relationships, and careers.
Prior to this study, self-confidence was mainly measured by self-reports. However, this new study measures the subjective nature of self-confidence as an objective quality. Through functional imaging techniques, scientists are beginning to develop neural models for feelings of confidence, and these new findings have important implications for psychology and psychiatry, as well as understandings of behavior and decision-making.
Although this new study does not leave readers with any self-help steps that can be used to improve self-confidence outside of a laboratory setting, it does support the perspective that self-confidence is flexible and fluid. The finding that self-confidence can be changed by training one’s brain may bring the scientific world one step closer to understanding just how and why certain mental states exist—and, what can be done to improve them.