There are a lot of things in this world that are hard to understand, but the human brain
has to be the most incomprehensible.
Like, why do you forget some things and remember others?
How come rejection feels like physical pain?
Don’t worry, I’ll get there.
But first, how about this surprising psychological tidbit:
_____ If there’s a calorie chart in a fast food
(or any other) restaurant, people tend to order less healthy and higher-calorie food!
It goes a little something like this: when you walk into a restaurant, you're probably
starving.
Your body is saying, “Feed me right now!” and who are you to argue?
But then you notice a handy-dandy calorie chart hanging on the wall.
It tells you that a big greasy burger with extra cheese has 710 calories.
As for a large serving of Caesar salad, it contains about 500.And that's where your hunger
speaks instead of you.
“Hey, look, the difference is just 200 calories!
Does it really matter?”
And at that moment, you're too preoccupied with the prospect of getting food to think
about the future consequences.
Not all people read those calorie charts, though.
So they don’t even know that the “healthy” salad they chose can actually contain as many
calories as a cheeseburger!
Just can’t win, can we?
_____ You might believe that in case of an emergency,
you'll be more likely to get help if there are a lot of people around.
Unfortunately, that's just not the case.
In reality, if something happens to you in a crowd of people, you might become victim
to the “Bystander Effect.”
It’s been proven multiple times that the more people witness an emergency, the fewer
chances one of them will help.
The reason for this phenomenon is that people don't like taking responsibility for the situation
when there are others around that can do it.
_____ Have you ever complained about poor product
choices at the grocery store?
Well, even those options that you do have might be too many for you.
When you have too many alternatives, your brain freezes and fails to make a final decision.
Shoppers in one grocery store unknowingly participated in an experiment.
Researchers set up two booths with a selection of products.
On one table, there were 6 kinds of jam, while the other was covered with 24 different jars
of the sweet treat.
And if you're sure that the second booth had more visitors, think again!
The first table with fewer options got 60% of the shoppers.
And 31% of those who approached this table bought one of the jams.
As for the remaining 40% of shoppers who stopped at the table with all that variety, only 3%
bought a jar.
As you can see, less really is more.
So if you wanna sell something, try to fight the urge to bombard your customers with dozens
of options.
And if you're a consumer, pick one from a maximum of 4 alternatives.
_____ Who doesn't like to think that they make conscious
and rational decisions based on factual analysis?
Unfortunately, nothing is that simple.
Almost all your choices are made through unconscious mental processing.
“Hey, but what about that new smartphone I recently bought?
Before purchasing it, I compared the prices, all the functions – I really did my homework!”
I know, I feel ya, but your subconscious was still probably running the show.
For example, you might’ve seen an ad about the product, and it stuck in your memory.
But don't worry, even though your subconscious makes most of your decisions, it doesn't mean
they’re bad or wrong!
Your brain analyzes 11 million pieces of data every second.
So, your decision-making is in good hands, trust me.
If brains had hands…Well, you know what I’m saying!
Actually, on that note… _____
You should trust your subconscious more – it tends to make decisions much faster than you
do.
Again, let’s go back to that smartphone example.
Say you’re at the store, and the salesperson has talked you into buying this one super
awesome model.
The only thing that's left is to pay for your purchase, but that's where the problems begin.
You start feeling increasingly uncomfortable and unsure.
What's happening?
Well, it’s right about now when your subconscious has already jumped into the driver’s seat.
It’s already decided (even faster than you!) that it doesn't like the choice you've been
offered.
If the negative emotion you feel is very intense, it might be better to trust your gut.
It almost never lets you down.
_____ With one exception, people CANNOT multi-task.
You probably think that you can because that's a very popular belief.
But the truth is that you can just switch from one task to another really fast.
Thus, you're 100% sure that you're multitasking.
As for that one exception?
Well, if you're engaged in some physical mundane task you've done a million times before, you
can simultaneously busy yourself with a mental one.
That's why you can easily do the dishes and think about work or walk and talk on the phone.
_____ Emotional pain activates the same regions
of your brain as physical pain does.
This means that if your coworkers "forget" to invite you to a party, you’ll feel as
if they have physically hit you.
It turns out that during the process of evolution, your body decided to save its resources and
take the economical route.
The result: you have a single neural system to feel and detect both physical and emotional
pain.
Ow, my heart! _____
Your memories aren't set in stone – you tend to reconstruct them every time you think
of a particular memory.
Imagine that a memory is a short video clip that’s stored somewhere in your brain.
Each time you return to this memory, certain nerve pathways fire anew.
But these memories can change as a result of new events that happen in your life.
For example, you had an amazing beachside vacation with your partner.
Your memories of this time will be warm, romantic, and cozy.
But then you break up, and this time, your mind will add some new details to the previously
perfect picture.
Perhaps your partner seemed cold and distant, even if at that time it wasn't true!
And the whole memory would evoke totally different emotions.
_____ You don’t exactly read text the way you
might think you do.
Despite what some researchers used to believe in the past, the brain doesn’t focus on
word shapes – it pays attention to letter shapes and sequences.
First, you recognize the letters in a word and then proceed to figure out the word as
a whole, even if they’re not in the right order!
Interestingly enough, you use your peripherals to read not only the letters in front of you
but also 15 more letters that are ahead.
In other words, your brain anticipates the following words.
If you find it a bit harder to read texts written in all caps (which is something a
lot of people say they find more difficult), the reason is that you aren't used to this
type of writing.
As soon as you practice enough, you'll get used to this style, and it’ll become as
easy as reading texts in lowercase letters.
But don't forget that nowadays, writing in all uppercase letters can be seen as shouting,
so be careful if you decide to conduct a few experiments involving your friends and family!
“HEY, CAN YOU READ THIS?”
“Whoa, take it easy, man…” _____
The next fact might burst your bubble a little, but it's a truth of life: you're a very poor
predictor.
It turns out that people tend to overestimate their potential reactions to different future
events.
This is true both about negative and positive things that might happen.
People can't correctly estimate how bad they’d feel if they lost their job.
They also can’t predict how happy they’d be if they won the lottery.
If you think about a potential unfortunate event, you believe that you’d be devastated
for a much longer time than you will be if that event really happens.
And the same goes vice versa: you overestimate the level of happiness you'll feel if something
great happens.
_____ Be careful if you go shopping in a bad mood,
when you're tired, or if you feel scared.
In this case, logos and brands will have the biggest effect on you.
The thing is that when people are stressed, they aren't likely to try anything new.
They tend to stick to familiar products they've at least seen in commercials on TV.
When you're exhausted and worried, you opt for familiarity and fall into the brand trap.
So, just get your groceries when you’re feeling happy!
And not hungry…that’s a dangerous game too!
Which psych fact impressed you the most?
Let me know down in the comments!
Remember to give this video a “like,” share it with your friends, and click “subscribe”
to stay on the Bright Side of life!