Are you Actually Thinking for Yourself ? Loretta Breuning

About This Episode

We like to think we make our own decisions. But how often are we actually following the crowd or our own patterns without realizing it?

Dr. Loretta Breuning returns to Mind Blend to explore why humans are naturally wired to seek protection, belonging and social approval, and how those instincts can shape everything from what we buy to what we say in a meeting.

We talk about why separating from the group can feel uncomfortable, how our early experiences create neural pathways that make familiar choices feel like “the truth,” and how the internet has made following the herd faster and harder to see.

Loretta also explains social comparison, why a few likes can affect our mood, and how even moral superiority can become another way of establishing our place in the group.

Key takeaways

• Following the herd isn't always wrong. The important question is whether we're choosing consciously.
• Our early experiences can create patterns we repeat without realizing we have a choice.
• Viral content and algorithms don't remove our agency. We still decide where to direct our attention.
• New choices, repeated over time, can build new pathways.

“You just feel like you know the truth.”

“We have agency over our brain. It's hard to use it, but we do have it.”

Questions we explored

Why do we follow the crowd/herd?

Our brains associate belonging and proximity to others with safety and protection.

Why is it so hard to think independently?

Early experiences build powerful neural pathways that can make familiar responses feel automatic.

How do we know when to follow or go our own way?

Ask: Who is “everyone”? How much do I trust them? And what are the consequences of going another way?

How can we change our patterns to make more conscious decisions?

Awareness and attention to your actions, and repeatedly making a new choice can help build new pathways.

Listen in for a conversation about herd mentality, mindfulness and the practical choices that can help us think a little more consciously.

About Loretta Breuning, PhD

Loretta is the author of Habits of a Happy Brain: Retrain Your Brain to Boost Your Serotonin, Dopamine, Oxytocin and Endorphin Levels. She founded the Inner Mammal Institute to help people build new neural pathways to turn on their happy chemicals in new ways.

As Professor of Management at California State University, and a mom, Loretta was not convinced by prevailing theories of human motivation. While researching alternatives, she uncovered the brain chemistry we share with animals. She learned that each happy chemical evolved to motivate a specific survival behavior, not to make you feel good all the time for no reason. Then everything made sense, and she began creating resources to spread this knowledge: books, videos, blogs, podcasts, infographics, slide shows, social media and a training program. Loretta's work has helped thousands of people "make peace with the animal inside." And she still marvels every day at the overlap between a wildlife documentary and the lyrics to a love song.

You can connect with Loretta and find out more about her work on Inner Mammal Institute and on

Substack: https://innermammal.substack.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@InnerMammalInstitute

Instagram @ inner.mammal.inst

And you can get a free 5-day Happy Chemical Jumpstart: https://InnerMammalInstitute.org/newsletter

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