Mind Control Lab
Summary
The Mind Control Lab (MCL) is dedicated to investigating and decoding the mysteries of the human mind—the most powerful resource we have—specifically as it relates to harnessing and using this extraordinary and invisible force to exceed our aspirations and live more successfully in a world rife with distraction, angst, uncertainty, and ever-evolving socio-technological influences.
Mind control, in this context, should not be confused with the sinister term "brainwashing." Rather, it refers to the science of directing, training, and using our minds to our advantage. Consider: we live in our own minds. It follows, then, that if we want to rethink our thinking, overcome what's holding us back, or achieve the success we desire, we must first get mind control.
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William James, one of the founders of modern psychology, is purported to have said that the greatest discovery of his generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their minds. This of course is easier said than done. More than a century after James, researchers are still trying to get a clear picture of how the mind and its elements including, perceptions, attitudes, and expectations, affect real-world outcomes, and how we can take control of this influence to lead more meaningful and successful lives.
The MCL is at the forefront of this effort. We are a psychological science-led research group dedicated to investigating and decoding the mysteries of the human mind. More specifically, we are interested in understanding how to effectively direct, manage, and use the mind to achieve success across multiple domains, including business, work, sports, and more.
We strongly encourage an interdisciplinary approach that bridges the gap between theory and real-world applications. To that end, our lab collaborates with other labs in the SPSH, as well as external labs worldwide, such as the Auckland Bioengineering Institute and the Empathic Computing Laboratory at the University of South Australia. The lab also partners with medical teams at centres such as Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand Waitaha Canterbury, iwi and Māori organisations, and community groups such as Lads Without Labels to improve outcomes.
Certainly, there are exciting, fulfilling, and potentially high-yielding opportunities for increased collaboration, value creation, and partnership. We encourage interested businesses and industry organisations whether local, national, or international to reach out to us HERE.
To be sure, our research findings have a stunning array of implications and applications including (but not limited to) helping individuals and teams rethink failure, stay focused, exceed the growth and progress they assumed possible, advance mental thriving for rangatahi, and better navigate (and, where appropriate, defend against) the ever-evolving social and technological forces that are increasingly surrounding and pervasively influencing human thought and life.
Research in the lab can be grouped into three broad themes, below we dive into these areas in greater detail, and highlight some of our research projects.
This line of research examines how the mind influences whether we perform up to our potential or fail to do so. What are the key mental systems (e.g., mindsets, core beliefs) that exert the most impact on our success?
An example of work in this theme includes investigating how the top 0.01% of successful people in various fields of human endeavour interact with their minds differently from the rest, and identifying whether there is such a thing as the highly coveted "winning mindset" widely touted in conventional self-help and coaching.
This line of research examines how these invisible aspects of the mind are influenced and redirected by external factors — from smartphones and social media to artificial intelligence, influencers, and so-called habit-forming products — which distract, derail, or otherwise make it harder for us to achieve our intended objectives.
One example of work in this theme involves investigating and isolating the dynamic "dark patterns" or deceptive design methods used to capture and seemingly trap the mind in online digital environments, in order to compel us to click, scroll, subscribe, and ultimately "monetise" our attention.
This line of research examines how we can purposefully (and ethically) use the mind to change the mind through a variety of novel high-tech, low-tech, and no-tech interventions to improve important outcomes, such as those related to mental health, well-being, and high performance.
Examples of work in this theme include developing and testing mind-based interventions for promoting psychological thriving. Another project, for example, demonstrates that a novel conversational agent can effectively instil a stress optimisation mindset in a cohort of business owners, which in turn increased their productivity and performance.
Alternative names
Other Concentration contact
- University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand