The Onion theory, also known as the social penetration theory, describes layers of human interaction and how deep (or not) they run. You can view the onion as being composed of 3 layers:
The ‘Thin’ Skin: The thin skin is the part of our identity that is for public show. It is how we decide what to present of ourselves to the world. Our ‘worldview’. How we dress, how we speak, which images make up our instagram page, which articles we share on facebook. We usually engage this level of ourselves for fairly superficial purposes; for making an impression. For stating which tribe we are in.
The Outer Layer: This relates to the 5% of our brain that is conscious and we usually consider to be rational. It is the part of our brain that we use when we are working or explaining why we think or believe a certain thing. This part of the brain usually sees itself as objective. It’s actually incredibly biased.
The Inner Layers: I consider these the ‘powerful layers’. Whilst the two outer layers are what we present and articulate about ourselves, the inner layers are our real selves. For all the differences that may be apparent in the outer layers, the inner layers are made up of things we all have in common. They are a world of creativity, emotion & fundamental human experiences. It is about 95% of our mind and is really powerful when you help people relate at this level together.
So let’s apply this to how much influence we can have on the people around us.In my own research, when I ask people to recall different types of media, I consistently note that people forget factual information fairly quickly (sometimes within hours) but retain emotional memory for much longer. This means that factual media like news is quickly forgotten, whilst more emotional formats like real-life stories leave a much longer impression that can even impact behaviour. And more powerful than either of these media formats in my experience, has been real human interaction.
When working on projects to counter hate speech, real, personal, on-the-ground relationships have been the most effective at countering ideas that come in the form of articles and videos that, whilst they may be emotive, are also dismembered from their writers. Real life people can build trusting relationships. Trusting relationships exist at the level of the ‘inner layer’. We can access, deliberate over and direct our behaviour at this level.
There is a real risk that the mental and financial toll of the pandemic on the population could divide us even more. Community groups hold the gift of stepping in to help people to process and problem solve at a deeper level. The community acts as the soil bed, supporting many individuals or ‘onions’, nurturing them with what they need to grow healthy and resilient. The Onion theory reinforces the importance of local community support, as this support facilitates the development of healthier coping mechanisms.