(soft music)
- [Instructor] Hey Psych2goers,
welcome back to another video.
Sometimes, it can be easy to underestimate
your own skills and capabilities.
But it's important to realize your true worth.
Only then can you confidently act
towards reaching your goals
and be the best version of yourself.
So to help you feel more confident in yourself,
we'll be talking about signs
that you may be more intelligent than you realize.
Number one, you're constantly curious.
Do you question a lot of things.
Numerous studies have shown that people
who are very curious are likely to be smarter.
This is because curious people are always striving
to learn new things
and to expand their knowledge.
Being curious will also help
you develop a more refined form of thinking,
as a direct result of expanding your knowledge
and being able to account for more possibilities.
Number two,
you know there are many things that you don't know.
There's a misconception that people
who say they know more than they do
come across as someone who is smart.
However, studies have shown
that this occurs due to an overestimation
of their cognitive abilities.
Instead, people who are more intelligent are not afraid
to admit that they don't know some things
since they have more accurate estimates
of their own knowledge.
This awareness will result in a motivation
to learn and try new things.
Number three, you can be funny.
Can you make a lot of people laugh?
A study by The University of New Mexico
found that funny people tend to be smarter.
This is attributed to the fact
that both cognitive and emotional ability is required
to process and produce humor.
Additionally, funny people not only make others laugh,
but they also laugh more themselves.
These positive emotions increase the production of dopamine,
which opens up the learning centers of the brain.
Number four, you have high self-control.
Do you make a lot of impulsive choices?
A study conducted by Yale university in 2009
supports the claim that intelligent people are better
at controlling themselves
to resist taking impulsive actions.
The study consisted of giving participants the choice
of receiving money immediately
or more at a later time.
The results found that people
who scored higher in the IQ test,
are more willing to wait
and receive more money later.
Number five, you're messy.
Did you know that Albert Einstein was known to be messy?
People generally link messiness with laziness.
However, a study in 2013 by Kathleen Vohs
showed that disorderly spaces can incentivize creativity,
as opposed to clean and tidy spaces
that incentivize playing it safe.
Also since messy people are used to disorderly environments,
they benefit from being able
to focus under different circumstances,
as opposed to people who can only be productive
in neat spaces.
Number six, you're fine being by yourself.
Do you enjoy spending time on your own?
According to a study published
by the British Journal of Psychology,
there's a strong correlation
between intelligence and independence.
Being alone gives you time to think and meditate on how
to approach your problems,
and what you would need
to complete the task most effectively.
Number seven, you procrastinate.
Do you always put things off until the last minute?
As opposed to what most people may think
those who procrastinate may actually be more intelligent
than you realize.
The time you spent stalling a task
allows for creative and innovative thinking
that may lead to more productive ideas.
By not jumping straight into completing a task,
procrastinators let more divergent ideas come forward,
so as to have a wider variety of options to choose from.
Number eight, you stay up late.
Do you often stay up late into the night?
Several studies have shown a direct correlation
between certain sleeping habits and IQ.
A study published in 2009 in the journal
of Personality and Individual Differences
showed that young adults who slept and woke up later,
had a higher IQ than those who slept and woke up earlier.
People who sleep late
tend to get bursts of inspiration
due to the quiet environment
where there are no distractions or obstacles
to their creative thinking.
Number nine, you took music lessons as a child.
Music lessons are believed
to help with children's mental development.
Since music is known to stimulate the left side
of the brain,
which helps with the development of language skills.
A study made by Glenn Schellenberg
consisted of comparing the IQ of children
who had nine months of music lessons
with children who did not take any music lessons.
And found that those who took music lessons
had a relevant IQ boost
as compared to the other group of children.
And number 10, you're left-handed.
Do you write with your left
or your right hand?
Research indicates that left-handed people
have a divergent way of thinking,
which allows them to solve problems
and tasks more creatively.
This is supported by a study conducted
by The University of Athens
who concluded,
left-handed people have high scores in divergent thinking
and cognitive ability.
Do you relate to any of the signs mentioned here?
Let us know in the comments below.
If you found this video helpful
be sure to like, subscribe and share this video
with those who might benefit from it.
Subscribe to Psych2go
and hit the notification bell icon for more videos.
The references and studies used this video
are added in the description below.
Thanks for watching and we'll see you in our next video.