The human psyche is infinitely complex, with new research coming out every day to help
understand why we are the way we are.
And while some psychological studies give us are not really interesting, others are
truly enlightening.
In this video we're going to look at 21 psychological facts that will blow your mind - For each
of the points listed in the video I'm going to put the link to the associated research
in the description below for your reference.
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Without further ado, let’s start!
1.
If we have a plan B, our plan A is less likely to work.
Personally, I love to always have a plan B, however, every now and then, it hurts to be
prepared.
In a series of experiments from the University of Pennsylvania, researchers found that when
volunteers thought about a backup plan before starting a task, they did worse than those
who hadn't thought about a plan B. What's more, when they realized they had options,
their motivation for succeeding the first time around dropped.
The researchers stress that thinking ahead is a good idea, but you might be more successful
if you keep those plans vague.
2.
Fear can feel good—if we're not really in danger.
Not everyone loves scary movies, but for the people who do, there are a few theories as
to why—the main one coming down to hormones.
When you're watching a scary movie or walking through a haunted house, you get all the adrenaline,
endorphins, and dopamine from a fight-or-flight response, but no matter how scared you feel,
your brain recognizes that you're not really in danger—so you get that natural high without
the risk.
3.
"Catching" a yawn could help us bond.
Why do you yawn when someone else does, even if you aren't tired?
There are a few theories about why yawning is contagious, but one of the leading ones
is that it shows empathy.
People who are less likely to show empathy—such as toddlers who haven't learned it yet or
young people with autism—are also less likely to yawn in reaction to someone else's.
4.
We care more about a single person than about massive tragedies.
In another University of Pennsylvania study, one group learned about a little girl who
was starving to death, another learned about millions dying of hunger, and a third learned
about both situations.
People donated more than twice as much money when hearing about the little girl than when
hearing the statistics—and even the group who'd heard her story in the context of the
bigger tragedy donated less.
Psychologists think that we're wired to help the person in front of us, but when the problem
feels too big, we figure our little part isn't doing much.
5.
It takes five positive things to outweigh a single negative thing.
Our brains have something called a "negativity bias" that makes us remember bad news more
than good, which is why you quickly forget that your co-worker complimented your presentation
but keep dwelling on the fact that a kid at the bus stop insulted your shoes.
To feel balanced, we need at least a five to one ration of good too bad in our lives.
6.
We'd rather know something bad is coming than not know what to expect.
Researchers who published their work in the journal Nature have found that it's less stressful
to know something negative is about to happen (e.g., there's no chance we'll get to a meeting
on time) than when we don't know how things will work out (e.g., we might be on time after
all).
That's because the part of our brain that predicts consequences—whether good or bad—is
most active when it doesn't know what to expect.
If stepping on the gas will help us beat traffic, we'll go through that stress instead of just
accepting that we'll have to come up with a decent excuse when (not if) we're late.
7.
When one rule seems too strict, we want to break more.
Psychologists have studied a phenomenon called reactance: When people perceive certain freedoms
being taken away, they not only break that rule, but they break even more than they otherwise
would have in an effort to regain their freedom.
This could be one of the best psychology facts to explain why a teenager who can't use his
phone in class will chew gum while stealthily sending a text.
8.
There's a reason we want to squeeze cute things.
"It's so cute, I just was to smooch it until it pops!"
That's called cuteness aggression, and people who feel it don't really want to crush that
adorable puppy.
Research published in Frontiers in Behavioural Neuroscience found that when we're feeling
overwhelmed by positive emotions—like we do when looking at an impossibly cute baby
animal—a little bit of aggression helps us balance out that high.
9.
Some people enjoy seeing anger in others.
In one University of Michigan study, people with high testosterone remembered information
better when it was paired with an angry face than a neutral one or no face, indicating
they found the angry glare rewarding.
The researchers said it could mean that certain people enjoy making someone else glare at
them—as long the flash of anger doesn't last long enough to be a threat—which could
be why that guy in the office won't let go of that stupid joke at your expense.
10.
We're convinced that the future is bright.
Doesn't matter if you like where you're at right now or not—most of us have an "optimism
bias" that convinces us the future will be better than the present, according to research
in Current Biology.
We assume we'll rise up in our careers, never get divorced, raise little angels of children,
and live to a ripe old age.
Those might not all be realistic for everyone, but there's no harm in dreaming.
11.
We (unintentionally) believe what we want to believe.
Humans are victim to something called confirmation bias: the tendency to interpret facts in a
way that confirms what we already believe.
So, no matter how many facts you throw at your uncle trying to sway his political opinions,
there's a good chance he isn't going to budge.
It's one of the psychology facts you'll just have to accept that you can't change.
If, for example, you believe that pigs fly and you watch 2-3 videos on YouTube in which
someone tells you that pigs fly, stay reassured that the YouTube algorithm will suggest you
more and more similar videos in which you are told that pigs fly: with time you will
convince yourself that pigs fly because this is what you want to believe.
12.
We're programmed to love the music you listened to in high school the most.
The music we like gives us a hit of dopamine and other feel-good chemicals, and that's
even stronger when we're young because our brains are developing.
From around age 12 to 22, everything feels more important, so we tend to emphasize those
years the most and hang on to those musical memories.
Researchers have uncovered evidence that suggests our brains bind us to the music we heard as
teenagers more tightly than anything we'll hear as adults—a connection that doesn't
weaken as we age.
13.
Memories are more like pieced-together pictures than accurate snapshots.
Even people with the best memories in the world can have "false memories."
The brain generally remembers the gist of what happens, then fills in the rest—sometimes
inaccurately—which explains why you insist your wife was with you at a party six years
ago, even though she's adamant she wasn't.
14.
Putting information in bite-sized pieces helps us remember.
Your short-term memory can only hold on to so much information at a time (unless you
try one of the simple ways to improve your memory), which is why you use "chunking" to
remember long numbers.
For instance, if you try to memorize this number: 90655372, you probably naturally thought
something like 906-553-72.
15.
You remember things better if you've been tested on them.
One of the most useful psychology facts is that testing really does work.
One study published in the journal Psychological Science found that people are more likely
to store information in their long-term memory if they've been tested on the information
(the more, the better) than if they just study and don't need to remember it right away.
So, if there is any teacher or professor among you watching this video make sure to get a
surprise test ready for tomorrow’s class!
I am sure your students will love it!
16.
Too much choice can become paralyzing.
The whole "paradox of choice" theory has been criticized by researchers who say it hasn't
been shown in studies, but there is some evidence that our brains prefer a few options to a
ton.
Think about when you go to a restaurant and they water brings you a 20-page menu...how
do you feel?
Are you really happy to pick from so many choices?
I recommend the book "The Paradox of Choice" by Barry Schwartz if you want to delve into
this topic.
17.
We will always, always, always find a problem.
Ever wonder why when one problem resolves, another one takes its place?
It's not that the world is against you—but your brain might be, in a sense.
Researchers asked volunteers to pick out threatening-looking people from computer-generated faces.
"As we showed people fewer and fewer threatening faces over time, we found that they expanded
their definition of 'threatening' to include a wider range of faces," writes researcher
David Levari, PhD.
"In other words, when they ran out of threatening faces to find, they started calling faces
threatening that they used to call harmless."
Now you see why some people always seem to be able to complicate their lives and find
downsides in everything.
18.
We'd rather skew the facts than change our beliefs about people.
Humans hate "cognitive dissonance": when a fact counters something we believe.
That's why when, we hear that a loved one did something wrong or garbage, we undermine
how bad it really was, or we tell ourselves that science exaggerates when a study tells
us we really need to move more.
Obviously, there are exceptions, but generally we humans find it hard to change our opinion
about someone, because that would involve admitting a mistake in our initial assessment.
19.
People rise to our high expectations (and don't rise if we have low ones).
You may have heard of the Pygmalion effect before—basically, we do well when other
people think we will, and we don't do well when people expect us to fail.
The idea came from a famous 1960s study in which researchers told teachers that certain
students (chosen at random) had high potential based on IQ tests.
Those students did indeed go on to be high achievers, thanks to their teachers' expectations
in them.
20.
Power makes people care less about others.
You've probably heard about the famous Stanford prison experiment.
(Refresher: College students were randomly assigned to be either a prisoner or guard
in a fake prison, and the "guards" started harassing the "prisoners."
It got so bad that the two-week experiment was cancelled after six days.).
That's pretty extreme, but later studies have found that when people feel like they're in
a power position, they become worse at judging a person's feelings based on their facial
expressions, indicating a loss of empathy.
So, if you think you don't have power because you are nicer and more empathetic person than
others you are wrong, it's the opposite.
It’s very likely that you are a nicer and more empathetic person, simply because you
have no power.
21.
We loosen our morals when an authority tells us to.
It's one of the oldest psychology facts in the books: In the 1960s, Yale psychologist
Stanley Milgram infamously conducted an experiment that he thought would prove Americans wouldn't
accept immoral orders like the Nazis had.
For a "learning task," volunteers were told to deliver shocks to a "learner" (an actor,
little known to the real volunteers) if they got an answer wrong.
To Milgram's horror, the participants continued delivering shocks, even when the learner screamed
in pain.
And you, which of these 21 psychological facts did you find most interesting?
If you'd like, leave a comment.
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