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16 Psychological facts that will blow your mind
The human mind is very complicated and intriguing. Psychology, the science of the
human psyche is discovering more interesting facts about us every day. Understanding the
psychology behind why we behave the way we do, how we treat others, and express ourselves is
always very appealing. Here are some of the psychological facts that explain human nature.
No1: It takes up to seven pieces of contrary information to change the first impression
We all know the importance of first impressions. They are easy and quick to make and they have a
great impact on almost every aspect of our lives - romantic relationships, carriers,
even friendships. Therefore, we always try hard to make a good first impression. Psychological
studies show that it takes around 7 pieces of information that are contrary to the first
impression to change it. For instance, if your first impression of your new colleague was that
he is a bad person, he will have to do up to 7 nice things to change your first impression.
No2: It takes five positive things to outweigh one negative thing
Humans have a rather unfortunate tendency called “negative bias”. This means we remember bad things
more than the good, especially if those things have something to do with ourselves. This is why
you are likely to forget the compliment your coworker gave you about your presentation,
but you can’t stop thinking about the fact that some stranger at the bus stop said your shoes were
ugly. Studies have shown that it takes five positive things to counteract that one negative.
No3: We care more about a single person than about massive tragedies
There have been many mass tragedies throughout history. But we always seem to care more about
individual cases and a single person more than for the demise of many people. People
donate more to save one ailing stranger than to prevent hunger that is killing millions of
people every year. Our brains are wired to care more about the people in front of us. When the
problem feels too big, we figure we can do little about it and don’t engage as much.
No4: None of our memories are completely true You may think you have a perfect memory. But,
there is a proven tendency of our brain to create ‘false memories’. They are not lies, per se. This
tendency of our brains is unconscious. Think about the situation when you tell your friend something
that happened to you. Since your memory is not perfect or eidetic, you won’t remember all the
details. You don’t remember the exact time of the day something happened or what you were wearing.
But for the benefit of the story, your brain will complete your memory with false details
to make your story complete. No5: People perform as
good (or bad) as we expect them to If someone is aware you expect a lot of them,
they are highly likely to perform better than they would if they didn’t know about your
expectations. This goes the other way, too. If you let someone know you have low expectations,
they are not likely to accomplish much. This is known as the Pygmalion effect and it is often
called the “self-fulfilling prophecy”. The secret behind this effect is explained best
in a school setting. If teachers believed that a student was “gifted”, they would act in ways that
encouraged that student and he or she would actually live up to the belief of teachers.
No6: Power makes people less humane As Abraham Lincoln once said,
“If you want to test a man's character, give him power”. One psychological study proved
this tendency. A Stanford experiment involved two groups of participants divided into “prisoners”
and “guards”. There was no difference between the two groups other than power. As the study went on,
“guards” began to behave in ways they would not usually act in their everyday lives.
Having power made one group of people loosen their moral principles and become more cruel.
No7: Peer pressure makes us change our beliefs and behaviors
People have a strong desire to be accepted by their peers. This is a well-known truth.
We often change our appearance or our attitudes to blend in with our friends. But, we are often
unaware to what extent we are prepared to change under peer pressure. For instance,
people are willing to make big changes in lifestyle, such as becoming vegetarian,
when influenced by the other members of their social groups.
No8: If you think there is no escape from a dangerous situation, you will stop fighting
It is easy to assume that when you are in danger, you would do everything to get yourself out. But,
this is not always true. When you encounter a situation that you have tried to escape, but
with no success, you will eventually give up and stop fighting. No matter what uncomfortable things
you experience, the knowledge that you can’t do anything to stop it makes you very passive. This
phenomenon is called learned helplessness and it explains the behavior of some kidnap victims
that at some point simply stop trying to escape. No9: It is paralyzing to have too much choice
No matter what the choice is, we all love to have many options that we can choose
from. Whether it is our wardrobe, jobs or life partners, we love to have many options
and chose what works best for us. But, too much choice actually makes us incapable of
choosing in the end. Decision paralysis occurs when we have to select from too many options.
The human brain simply isn't designed to process and compare too many alternatives. This is what
often happens when people go grocery shopping. They stay in the aisle of a supermarket for a
very long time, unable to choose between 50 different types or flavors of yogurt.
No10: Having the same opponent can make people bond
People bond over many things – similar interests, same opinions and beliefs or mutual friends. But,
there is one thing that makes even very different people with very little in common, bond very
quickly. That thing is having the same opponent or enemy. When people have the same rival,
they join strengths and unite to overcome them. This explains several kinds of human behavior.
It is the secret behind the unity of sports teams, armies but also of complete strangers when facing
natural disasters and other adversities. No11: If you can delay gratification,
you will be more successful One adorable development in a psychological
study showed that kids who are able to delay gratification and not eat a marshmallow came
to be more successful as grownups. The ability to be patient and delay gratification seems to
be really important, especially for academic success. To succeed in education, especially
a college education, one must often delay all sorts of pleasures. You must study and therefore
you can’t watch that great new movie or party with your friends all night. Not all people have this
kind of willpower. If you can delay pleasure, it is a good sign that you will be successful.
No12: Love is a more important aspect of the parent-child bond than food
There is always the question of what is more important for creating the parent-child bond,
the love or the fact that parents are feeding the baby. It turns out that a
parent’s love is more important than the food they provide. Given the opportunity to choose,
baby monkeys always go to the artificial mother who is warm and furry than to one that has food
but is cold. Cold, unloving mothers that just provide minimal care for the baby don’t form
the right parent-child bond. Showing love to a baby is essential for creating that unique bond.
No13: If we have a plan B, our plan A is less likely to work
Many people tend to always have a backup plan in case something goes wrong. But,
it seems that sometimes that actually makes the first plan fall through. When we make a plan B,
we don’t try to make plan A work as much as we would if we didn’t have the backup plan. We think
we are safe if plan A doesn’t work, because we have the alternative. What's more, when
we realize we have other options, our motivation for succeeding the first time around decreases.
No14: Food tastes better when someone else makes it
Have you ever thought that your roasted potatoes will never taste as good as your mom’s? Well,
you are very likely correct and the reason has nothing to do with your cooking skills.
When you prepare the food yourself, you spend much time fiddling with it, and your enthusiasm
fades. You're around it so long that it feels less exciting by the time you actually dig in—and that,
subsequently, decreases your enjoyment. But, when someone else prepares it,
the dish is new to you and thus very exciting. No15: When you feel like you're low on
something (like money), you obsess over it Do you know that feeling when you are low on
cash and you can’t think about other things? You keep obsessing over the fact that money is scarce.
Our brains are sensitive to the lack of things. It is easy for humans to neglect or overlook what
we have in abundance and focus on what we don’t have enough of. When people have enough money,
for instance, they plan their finances better. But, when they are low on cash,
they always need reminding to pay the bills. They don’t think about how will they get
by. Their main focus is the lack of money. No16: We're convinced that the future is bright
Whatever you may think about your life at the moment, chances are that you think things will
get better than they are now. We have an “optimism bias” when thinking about the future. It is the
tendency to believe the future is bright. It probably is what motivates us to keep on
planning and putting in the effort from one day to another. We usually think we’ll get a better job,
buy a new car, and move to a bigger home. Everything is rosy in our perspective.
However life may turn out to be, hoping and dreaming often helps us get through tough times.
Learning about human psychology is always very interesting. We hope these facts shed some
light on the behavioral tendencies you might have noticed in yourself and in other people.
Have you experienced any of these tendencies? Let us know which ones in the comments down below.
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