By Dennis Sale
The psychiatrist Steve Peters wrote a best-selling book called The Chimp Paradox in which he uses chimpanzee behaviour as a metaphor for understanding how humans can become violent and destructive.
In this column, I identify the specific brain systems and functioning that he alludes to, how they work, and how we can self-regulate to mitigate the worst outcomes. This has important implications for what we teach in schools to help young people fully understand how our emotions and feelings are initiated, the internal conflicts they often create, and the specific ways in which they can manage these and maintain wellbeing.
For context, it’s necessary to identify certain similarities and differences between chimpanzees and humans. Key similarities include shared DNA sequences (eg approximately 98.8% identical, highlighting a close evolutionary relationship), physical attributes, social behaviour and cognitive abilities (eg both species exhibit intelligence and the ability to learn and use tools). Significant differences include the human brain being larger and more complex than that of chimpanzees, particularly in areas associated with language, abstract thought and self-awareness. Humans possess more sophisticated language capabilities and have developed complex cultures and technologies.
Also, it is well documented (eg Wilson, 2014) that chimpanzees, which can be gentle and playful, are both extremely strong (up to around twice as strong as adult humans) and often exhibit spontaneous aggression and violent behaviour.
This is characterised by:
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Intergroup aggression: Chimpanzees engage in violent conflicts with other groups, often resulting in serious injuries and deaths.
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Dominance displays: Chimpanzees establish and maintain social hierarchies through aggressive displays, such as charging, vocalising and physical confrontations.
I don’t need to labour the point that humans, to varying degrees and forms, also display these dispositions and behaviours. The book is essentially about the interplay between two major human brain structures: the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex. The limbic system is a complex network of structures in the brain that plays a crucial role in the development of aggressive emotions and behaviours. When faced with a perceived threat or provocation, it activates emotional arousal, which triggers the release of stress hormones (eg adrenaline and cortisol), resulting in a heightened state of arousal that can make individuals more reactive and prone to aggression.
In contrast, the prefrontal cortex, the most forward part of the frontal lobe in the brain, plays a crucial role in self-regulation, helping us to manage our emotions, even when we are experiencing strong feelings such as anger or fear. Essentially, it acts like a brake, helping us to stop and think before we act. It allows us to consider the potential consequences of our actions for future wellbeing.
In the language of cognitive psychology, it provides metacognition, the distinctively human capability to be aware of our own thinking, feelings, and beliefs; hence between stimulus and response, humans can make conscious choices in determining their actions. Chimpanzees lack this metacognitive capability.
Peters cleverly uses the chimp to depict the limbic system and the human to depict the prefrontal cortex. Invariably, in many of life’s challenges, we must manage the complex interplay between these two systems. As we know from experience, when we are threatened – even annoyed – we tend to react quickly, and often with the much-noted “fight or flight” response. In certain situations, this is essential and useful to us humans. Let’s be blunt here (I am noted for this), our predecessors did not have time for thoughtful discussion on what to do when a sabre-tooth tiger or similar nasty entered their cave – it’s fight or flight.
People with high emotional intelligence are typically able to manage their limbic systems effectively, but this does not mean that they won’t “let the chimp out” if they deem it a necessary or useful response to specific situational challenges. However, the difference is that they have run the threat through their prefrontal cortex – have been metacognitive – before reacting.
What makes this so important for us humans?
In the worst scenario, do we want a person in “chimp mode” to have a finger on a nuclear missile trigger? In less dramatic scenarios, we humans are fraught with various personal threats and stressors that challenge our welfare at the individual level. How we choose to respond to such challenges is central to our psychological growth and wellbeing.
The Chimp Paradox is a bestseller, not because of its original knowledge in the field of cognitive neuroscience, but the clever and simple (not simplistic) way that Peters explains how this works and the implications it has for human behaviour.
As humans, we all have an “inner chimp” that initiates our emotions and reactions, which can be impulsive and irrational and then lead to conflict and violence. Equally, humans can identify, analyse and evaluate these emotions, and subsequently make better responses to perceived threats and challenges.
Invariably, there is subjectivity on what constitutes significant threats or challenges, but the reality is that many situations we humans get into are not life-or-death issues, but relatively minor conflicts – often the result of different perceptions and misunderstandings.
However, the chimp gets let out – and we know where this can lead. It is only through understanding how the mind works in these conflicted ways, and being able to use our metacognitive capabilities, that we can reduce conflict both with others and at the level of the self.
Key strategies to keep the chimp under control include:
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Recognising our chimp: Become attuned to one’s emotional states and when thoughts and feelings start to escalate in negative ways.
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Identify specific triggers: We all have specific things that may evoke fear, anger, disgust etc that can provoke our chimp. Knowing these specific triggers and their situated contexts can prepare us for quick recognition of negative emotional arousal, meaning we can bring our human side into play.
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Pause and Breathe: When negative emotions are evoked, this leads to the release of neurotransmitters (eg cortisol, adrenaline, dopamine) in the brain that can contribute to an aggressive response. Hence, consciously pausing and taking deep breaths allows time for these chemicals to lose some intensity and create a space between the trigger and our reactions.
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Be consciously Metacognitive: Metacognitive capability is perhaps the most important human capability (eg Sale, 2020), as it is the executive function for good thinking and self-regulation.
In summary, keeping our “chimp” in check is an ongoing process. As for all learning, understanding how things work, and using the most effective strategies with deliberate practice over time, will build competence and eventually expertise. Does that mean that the chimp never gets out? Well, not for me, and I don’t think this applies to even the most emotionally intelligent of us. However, it can be managed better rather than worse – and better really is better.
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Dennis Sale worked in the Singapore education system for 25 years as advisor, researcher and examiner. He coached over 15,000 teaching professionals and provided 100-plus consultancies in the Asian region. Dennis is author of the books Creative Teachers: Self-directed Learners (Springer 2020) and Creative Teaching: An Evidence-Based Approach (Springer, 2015). To contact him, visit dennissale.com.
