How Neuroscience inspired the movie Inside Out

When was the last time you liked the same movie as an 8-year-old? At this moment the most commented and praised film mainly by adults is ‘Inside Out’, translated into Portuguese as Divertida Mente.

The film does a good job portraying what it is like to be 11 years old. It focuses on demonstrating the important psychological principles in one of the most poignant moments in an individual’s life, which is the transition from pre-adolescence to the early years of adolescence, where the child begins to really feel that the end of childhood is leading to a still unknown period.

“It really tells us something very true and unique about the emotional experience,” says Professor of Psychology Dacher Keltner, the University of California, an expert in the study of emotions that Pixar used as a consultant, explaining the background, physiology and the purpose of emotions. “The film suggests that, in a way, all emotions have their purpose, and that they are closely linked to current science.”

“I hope that this film will become part of our cultural understanding of what it means to be a child, what it means to be a human, and, above all, an aid to deal with all emotions,” says Keltner.

The insights that Keltner and his mentor, psychologist Paul Ekman, helped to materialize the animated personifications of emotions. ”In our culture, we have a certain disgust with sadness, but it is a powerful trigger for us to seek comfort and unity”, says Keltner. “In the meantime, anger is often the feeling of being treated unfairly, and that can be a key motivating point for social change.’ ’

The discussions eventually evolved into the film, the outcome of which exceeded Keltner’s expectations: “I was delighted,” he says. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it.”

Keltner, who has taught psychology at the University of Berkeley since 1996, teaches that everyone has an “emotion-dominant” — just as Riley, in the film, leans toward joy. But that emotion-dominate can change over the years. In the case of Keltner, for example, the dominant emotion during his youth was contempt, he says, which turned into fear and anxiety in later life, and has recently evolved into compassion. For the moment, he would like the dominant emotion to become contentment.

An interesting fact

During the press conference for the film’s premiere, at Pixar’s headquarters in Emeryville, California, director Pete Doctor and producer Jonas Rivera, reflecting on all the details they had to cut from the film, revealed that the main one was a character called logic (logic). They explain that they chose fundamental emotions based on the research of Dr. Paul Ekman. The Pixar team made their main selections of characters from the study result. And logic, also known as reason, ended up being removed from history because its presence had unforeseen implications. One of the most important questions was: “Are we our emotions?” They concluded that we have free will, we make our choices, but we cannot choose the sentiment that comes from the outcome of each of them. Logic would not fit in this context.

One lesson: all emotions are important!

Yes, all emotions are an important and vital part of the human being. Emotions evolve for very specific reasons that are adaptively crucial to survival. Emotions provide very particular information about our world, sometimes in a more direct and precise way than our cognitive or rational brain can provide. Often, we get into trouble in life because we don’t listen to our “heart,” emotion-based intuition. Emotions are the foundation of motivation, they provide the energy to participate in a variety of actions and behaviors. Without emotions, we would have no attitudes.

I classify ‘Inside Out’ as a neurological movie. As an Emotional Intelligence class, it does an excellent job of showing the complexity of the human mind, how we react to different feelings and the relationship between Memory and Emotions. Although not all the details are completely accurate, the metaphors are based on a real understanding of neuroscience and positive psychology. Plus, it’s a fun story with a fantastic message, for kids and adults, that is worth watching more than once.