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As humans, we have a natural thirst to know how things work.
We have an innate curiosity about the world, our surroundings, and sometimes, even ourselves.
Like, do we control our brains, or do our brains control us?
Those are the questions that psychology wants to answer.
Psychology is the study of the human mind and behavior.
Since it was established in 19th century Europe by Wilhelm Wundt, psychology has seeked to
understand the workings of the mind.
Now, it seems that you can take any random statistic, use the term “psychology,”
and people would automatically believe anything you say as a fact.
However, psychology has undeniably progressed in explaining the unique aspects of our thought
process and consciousness.
Watch on for a detailed look inside your mind.
Your thoughts have a physical effect, too.
Stress and negativity eventually takes a toll on your immune system.
If a person is unhappy, they are more likely to get sick.
Sarcasm is a sign of a healthy brain.
People who speak in sarcasm have healthier minds.
Sarcasm promotes creative thinking, so people who craft witty responses tend to be better
at abstract thinking.
Cynics tend to read people better, too.
‘Catching a yawn’ shows empathy.
Yawning after seeing someone else yawn is a common occurrence, despite not feeling
tired nor sleepy.
One theory on why yawns are contagious is that people ‘catch’ it to show empathy.
This psychological behavior is called “mirroring,” where a person unconsciously imitates the
gestures of another person.
Tears don’t indicate the reason for one’s crying.
You may have read somewhere that happy tears fall from the right eye first, while a left-falling
tear indicates pain.
However, this statement is not scientifically proven.
The way you dress has a connection with your mood.
It is not just in the color that you choose to wear.
Dressing well also boosts your esteem and keeps you happier and more stable.
A single negative thing could only be outweighed by at least five positive things.
Your brain tends to remember bad over good; as an effect of the ‘negativity bias.’
It is also the reason why you keep dwelling on how a coworker insulted your outfit despite
hearing a compliment from your client.
In order to cancel out a negative thought, a 5:1 ratio of positive to negative is a must.
Food made by someone else tastes better than your own cooking, even with the same recipe.
A study found that preparing a meal makes you stand around it so long that it already
feels less appealing when it’s time to eat it.
Hence, your satisfaction decreases subsequently.
Eating food cooked by other people cancels out this effect.
You tend to believe only what you want to believe, unintentionally.
The human brain also has a tendency for ‘confirmation bias,’ which makes people misinterpret facts
to somewhat confirm what they already believe.
For example, there’s a myth about Charles Darwin converting to Christianity and revoking
the theory of evolution on his deathbed.
When it first broke out, Darwin’s son actually debunked the myth.
However, that “truth” is still used by preachers to this day, to confirm their beliefs.
Your memories are easy to manipulate.
In a span of 3 hours, you could be wrongly convinced that you committed a crime in your
teenage years.
Thinking in another language makes your decision sound more rational.
You tend to be less discerning about money in your native tongue.
In other words, the language you use affects your decisions.
Asking ‘Will I?’ is more motivating than saying ‘I Will.’
A study from the University of Illinois suggested that asking goal-related questions to yourself
could motivate you more than simply declaring it.
A rule too strict would only get you to break more.
Psychologists found how this ‘reactance’ phenomenon affects people’s perception of
rules.
Not only would they want to break a certain rule that takes certain freedom away; they
would also break more aside from that.
This might be the part of psychology facts behind a teenager who is not allowed to use
a phone in class would even chew gum while doing so.
Your dreams are more meaningful than your conscious thoughts.
Among all of the dreams you have had, 70% of it contains secret messages.
It means that they bear more importance and worth than the things you consciously
think about.
Having a plan B would only make plan A less likely to work.
The University of Pennsylvania held a series of experiments that revealed how volunteers
with a backup plan did worse in given tasks.
Team Plan B realized that having options made their motivation to succeed the first time
drop.
While it is good to think ahead, keeping those plans vague first could make you more successful.
Fear can be good for you.
There are people who love scary movies and there are those who don’t, and the difference
might be in their hormones.
Such activities give you adrenaline, dopamine, and endorphins from a fight-or-flight response.
However, your brain knows that you are not in real danger, so you still get that natural
high despite how scared you feel.
You tend to care more about a single person rather than about massive tragedies.
A University of Pennsylvania study had one group learn about different scales of tragedy.
For one group, it was a starving little girl.
Another group learned about starving millions, while a third group was assigned both situations.
The results showed that people who heard about the little girl donated over twice the amount
than the other respondents.
Psychologists believe that although you would willingly help a person, you would conclude
that your little help could not do much when a problem seems too big.
People would rather expect the worst than accept uncertainty.
Researchers found that expecting something negative about to happen is less stressful
than not knowing how things will end up.
You would prefer anticipating something bad over not knowing what to expect.
Returning a favor is in your nature.
Good manners could not take credit over the ‘rule of reciprocity.’
This brain command programs you to want to help someone who helped you.
It might have developed with the goal of keeping the smooth flow of society.
Being tested on things helps you remember them better.
Love it or hate it, tests are psychologically proven to be an effective tool for learning.
A study discovered that information could last longer in the memory of a person tested
for it than when only studied without the need to remember immediately.
You obsess over things which you feel you lack.
Take money for example.
The human brain is scarcity-sensitive; it constantly feels that you are missing things
that you need.
You keep seeing human faces in inanimate objects
because you’re subconsciously looking for them.
This sensation is called ‘pareidolia’ which scientists think came from the notion
that face recognition is an important part of social life.
It entails how your brain tends to find a face where there is none rather than missing
a real one.
You always find problems.
It is psychologically normal for you to find another problem upon resolving one.
One research demonstrated that volunteers who are asked to select computer-generated
faces that look threatening eventually resorted to faces that look tame.
It turns out that as the volunteers ran out of threatening-looking faces, they started
turning to faces that they would usually call harmless.
People would rather alter facts than change their opinions about people.
As much as ‘cognitive dissonance’ is normal, you hate it when reality
contradicts your beliefs.
It explains why you give out free passes for your loved one’s wrongdoings no matter how
bad it is.
High expectations motivate people.
The Pygmalion effect explains why you do better when other people believe you would.
On the contrary, you could not do well when someone expects you to fail.
Crying is good for you.
Though nobody likes busting out the waterworks, crying for long periods of time actually releases
endorphins.
Feel-good chemicals such as oxytocin helps ease physical and emotional pain.
It is possible to feel certain about something without facts or reasoning.
Undergoing electric simulation over that specific part of your brain could trigger a feeling
of certainty despite the absence of evidence or logic.
This is actually proven by a study done on rats.
They were moved from one habitat to another, while being shocked on the feet.
Eventually, the researchers were able to plant a false memory of a bad experience to the rats.
They were certain something bad happened to them in the first habitat, despite it not
being the case.
Some people are afraid of feeling too much happiness.
It is due to the fear of the pattern that something tragic might happen next.
There is a reason why that song is your favorite.
It is not just about the lyrics or the tune, it is because you link that song with an emotional
event in your life.
Smart people tend to talk themselves down.
On the other hand, ignorant people tend to think they are excellent.
Being ignored has a similar effect to a physical injury.
This feeling has similar chemical effects as to that of a physical injury.
Hence, your brain handles rejection like it would with physical pain.
Being lonely is worse for your health than you actually think.
A Harvard University study found a connection between extreme loneliness and the very same
levels of the blood-clotting protein responsible for stroke and heart attacks.
In other words, not having friends could have the same deadly effect as smoking.
Psychology facts proved that power lessens a person’s care for others.
Aside from the Stanford Prison Experiment, other studies found that people who are in
the position of power become worse at assessing another’s feelings.
It shows in their lack of facial expression which is a major indicator of loss of empathy.
Receiving rewards could convince you that a boring task was fun.
A study paid volunteers to convince someone that a boring task was actually interesting.
Those who lied yet still find the activity boring got paid $20.
On the other hand, those who did not have a genuine reason to lie and convinced themselves
that the task was truly fun were only paid $1.
Your brain gives less importance to long-term deadlines.
Yes, you procrastinate for a psychological reason.
The brain makes you prioritize urgent tasks, regardless of its importance, because it knows
that you could complete them.
Optimism can be taught.
Learned optimism is practiced by actively rejecting any negative self talk.
On the other hand, learned helplessness is more associated with pessimism.
Psychologically speaking, there is more behind an internet troll.
Scientists claim that most of them exhibit psychopathic, narcissistic and sadistic tendencies.
The average anxiety levels have increased over the years.
The average 1950s psychiatric patients demonstrated the same level of anxiety found in today’s
average high school kid.
People aged between 18 and 33 carry the most amount of stress in the world.
The stress levels only tend to reduce after the border age of 33.
Artists from creative fields have an 8% greater chance to suffer from bipolar disorder than
those from other fields.
Studies have found a connection between bipolar disorder and a person’s creativity.
But this definitely does not mean all creative people have bipolar disorder, and not everyone
with bipolar disorder are creative.
A broken heart could be a legitimate cause of death.
The broken heart syndrome is also called stress cardiomyopathy, and it could lead to critical,
short-term heart muscle malfunction.
The influence of power could have the same effect on a person as that of a traumatic
brain injury.
Victims become more unpredictable, less concerned about risks, and less proficient at being
sympathetic and empathetic.
Your addiction to social media is the result of its psychological scheme.
This formula is the real reason why you continue to scroll Facebook despite only going there
to check some notifications.
Being able to stay on the site regardless of interaction and activity is relevant to
the infinite scroll where your brain does not get any stop cue.
There is a psychological reason why you feel your phone vibrate when there are actually
no notifications.
This condition is called the Phantom Vibration Syndrome, and a whopping 68% of the population
suffers from it.
If you think that your idol is in love with you, there is a huge chance that you are suffering
from a mental illness.
A psychological disorder named ‘erotomania’ occurs when a person who believes that a famous
identity is in love with them.
Some people live their life like they’re on reality TV.
They suffer from what is called the Truman Syndrome.
Patients with this psychological disorder believe that they are, indeed, stars in a
reality TV show.
The name comes from the 90’s film, The Truman Show, with a similar premise.
Getting your hopes too high for Paris could give you a mental health disorder.
Mainly Japanese people suffer from Paris Syndrome, a psychological disorder caused by disappointment
from realizing that Paris is not what they expected it to be.
Local culture is one of the factors that affect hallucinatory voices.
People in the U.S. generally speak in harsh and aggressive tones.
On the other hand, schizophrenics in India and Africa hear more mild and playful voices.
The Japanese have a name for staying holed up in your room.
Approximately a million of this population lock themselves in their bedrooms for years.
Subsequently, they generate social and health problems thus called the hikikomori.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder occurs in about 6% of the population.
This condition shows symptoms of having a sharp sense of self-importance and an apparent
lack of empathy.
A narcissist often also suffers from depression or anxiety.
However, this coexistence is usually the sole reason why a narcissist would opt for therapy.
Tylenol is not only good for headaches.
Also known as acetaminophen, this painkiller is also known to alleviate psychological conditions
like social rejection.
Antidepressant drugs carry more than just sexual side effects.
It could also suppress any human emotions relevant to love and romance.
There is a psychological reason behind your urge to go to the beach.
The sight of water has a soothing effect that makes people happier, calmer and even more
creative.
Hence, your dreams of living in a beachside house is probably a good idea.
The opposite of paranoia exists.
Known as pronoia, this delusion makes you think that people have secret plans for building
your success.
People tend to value objects more when they assembled it themselves.
Named after the famous furniture store, the ‘IKEA effect’ causes the high value for
handcrafted objects regardless of the quality.
A man named Billy Milligan had 24 personalities.
He was born in Florida in 1955, but that ‘he’ only pertains to his core personality named
William Stanley Milligan.
Aside from him, 23 other personalities reside in his head, 2 of whom have committed crimes
such as theft and rape.
However, Milligan did not serve jail time.
Instead, he was sent to the Athens Mental Health Center due to ‘insanity’.
These are only a few of the mind-boggling things about the chemical cocktail of our
brains.
It just goes to show that there’s always something new to learn, even about yourself.
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