Know thy Brain: Top-Down vs. Bottom-Up Processing Explained
Human brains are simultaneously super cool and super weird. This folded, economically compact blob of about 3 pounds of fat, water, protein, salt and a bunch of other stuff (that sounds like a recipe for braised pork belly) controls “thought, memory, emotion, touch, motor skills, vision, breathing, temperature, hunger and every process that regulates our body” (Source: Johns Hopkins). So this thing is the reason you sometimes stumble over your words when trying to flirt with that cute guy at the coffee shop. Or when you trip over feet just walking down the sidewalk. Or why you have happy memories of the best Christmas EVER. Our brain also has more neurons than stars in the Milky Way.
We are literally a constellation of consciousness.
And that’s what makes humans unique. Not only as a species, but also among each other. Everyone’s brain is different even between individual Neurotypical and Neurodiverse people. We all put the pieces together in different way that works best for us and sometimes groups of people “get” one way better than another.
WTF is “Top-Down Processing” vs “Bottom-Up Processing”
I’m simplifying the kermuffins out of this, but our brains can process in two basic ways: Top-Down or Bottom-Up. Here are some simple definitions from our friends at Simply Psychology:
“Top-down processing… refers to perception guided by prior knowledge, experiences, and expectations, influencing the interpretation of sensory information.” It’s called “Top-down” because your brain is literally using its top parts (parietal cortex, prefrontal cortex, etc).
“Bottom-up processing is also known as data-driven processing because information processing begins with environmental stimuli, and perceptions are built from sensory input.” Here we find our fight-or-flight instinct, interest-based motivation for focus, real-time immediate reaction to stimuli…from the bottom up.
Neither way is right nor wrong as these processes serve different functions. We are constantly doing both all the time because we’re receiving a bunch of sensory information all at once and our brain is sorting it out based on what we know from our experiences to be important enough to pay attention to and what we should actually believe as reality. That being said, can you guess what type of processing most neurodivergent people tend to do more? Yup: bottom-up.
KthxY?
Workplace example: Are you a person who can handle ambiguity well? I don’t mean it in the interview “tell me about a time…” way. Look at these messages from your imaginary Bossman:
Do you actually “got it” or is your brain spinning asking: “wtf that means? How do I ‘find a vendor?!’ How the hell do I do that and what do they want? That’s too much right now…” And then you tell yourself you’ll do it later until you potentially freak out the morning of your 1x1 and get on it as best you can, but maybe not your best work…
The ask—“can you get me a list”—can seem very broad and vague, especially if you don’t have experience with ever getting vendor lists or handling these types of requests from this person before. The expectation is that you know how what “get me a list” means from both a literal and societal perspective. That you can break this down into sub-steps, managing their timing, and actually complete them to some invisible bar of quality. This is a Top-Down presentation of information.
What about this message? With more context and requirements it has helped to break the task down and reordered steps into a more Bottom-Up arrangement.
By the way, if you do receive a Top-Down style message, follow up and ask for the additional information you think you need to get your brain going.
Then set up a reminder system for yourself. Check out this post for tips on remembering to do things as a Bottom-Up thinker.
IYKYK
Information is power. If you know how your brain likes to processes information you will find yourself more effective, productive, and likely more comfortable in whatever environment you’re in. You can create strategies and systems to help you do what you need to do as well as identify how others like to process as well. You can also educate them on how you like to receive information and vice versa. Information is both power and harmony.