Until recently, it was believed that psychology and philosophy went hand in hand, until the 1870s when they became two separate and independent sciences. Since then, shocking facts about psychology have begun to be revealed to us, as well as amazing information about the human psyche, which studies have proven to be complex and its components and elements intertwined.
In today’s article, we’ll highlight some patterns you notice in yourself and others, from why you think food tastes better when it’s made by a certain person to why you sometimes see familiar human faces in inanimate objects like clouds.
1- If you have a backup plan, your original plan is unlikely to succeed.
Sometimes, it may be better not to be too confident in the results, as the feeling of danger is one of the most important reasons that push us to be accurate and avoid making mistakes.
In a series of experiments conducted by the University of Pennsylvania, researchers found that when volunteers thought of a backup plan before starting a task, they performed worse than those who didn’t think of any backup plan. When they realized they had other options, their motivation to succeed dropped significantly compared to volunteers who didn’t have any options. So, the researchers say, thinking about the future is a good idea, but you might be more successful if you keep those plans vague and focus on the present.
2- Fear can sometimes be a source of happiness.
When you watch a scary movie or try a ride at an amusement park, your brain releases adrenaline, endorphins, and dopamine, which are hormones responsible for happiness.
It’s true that you’re scared, but your brain knows you’re not really in danger, so it keeps these hormones at a normal level, which in turn makes you feel excited and happy.
3- Yawning is a means of social communication!
Have you ever wondered why you yawn when you see someone else yawn?
The reason behind yawning itself is still mysterious, as is the case with regard to its being contagious, but some scientists believe that yawning when seeing others yawn is nothing but a way to increase bonding and communication with members of the same species (in animals, as is the case with humans).
This explanation may seem ridiculous today, but perhaps this was a real means of communication in the past, when ancient man was not yet able to communicate in clear spoken language.
4- People tend to be more affected by the tragedy of one person than by the tragedy of a group.
In another study at the University of Pennsylvania, researchers showed one group a case of a young girl starving to death, another group statistics about millions of people dying from starvation, and finally a third group both cases.
People in the experiment donated more than twice as much when they heard about the little girl’s suffering as they did when they heard about the suffering of millions of people, and even the group that heard about the girl’s tragedy in the context of the larger tragedy donated less.
Psychologists believe that we are obligated to help the person in front of us, but when the problem seems too big, we see that our small role does not do much, which reduces our motivation to help.
5- One negative thought for every 5 positive thoughts.
Our brains have something called a “negativity bias” that makes us remember bad news more than good, which is why you quickly forget that a coworker complimented your presentation, but keep thinking about an insult you received from someone.
Psychologists say you need five positive things for every one negative thing to feel balanced in your life.
This means that there are much more positive things in your life than negative things, don’t you think?!
6- Food tastes better when it is made by a specific person.
Have you ever wondered why you prefer the taste of that sandwich you eat at a restaurant to the one you make at home, even if you use the same ingredients?
The reason behind this is simple: preparing a meal for yourself requires you to stand for a long time preparing, cooking, and serving it, which reduces your appetite and cravings for food, and therefore you will not feel good about its taste when you eat it.
7- The mind prefers to know the worst than to be ignorant of the future.
Some researchers who published their work in the journal Nature found that it is less stressful for the human mind to know that something negative is about to happen than not to know what will happen at all.
For example, we would rather know that we will not succeed in getting a certain job than continue to think that there is even a slight chance that we will be accepted.
This is because the part of the brain that predicts consequences—both good and bad—is more active when you don’t know what to expect. In other words, the worst is less mind-boggling and stressful than the unknown.
8- The human mind is programmed to return the favor.
There is a rule in psychology called the “rule of reciprocity.” This rule states that returning a favor is not just a moral matter, but that we are programmed to want to help someone who has already helped us.
Some psychologists believe that this trait was developed over time to keep society running smoothly, as people encourage themselves to help each other.
This psychological trick is often used in various stores, where they offer customers free gifts to make them feel obligated to return the favor and buy some of their products.
9- Our minds are programmed to follow the choices made by others.
In a famous experiment conducted in the 1950s, a group of college students were asked to indicate which of three drawn lines was the same length as a fourth line. Researchers found that when a student heard the answers of other students participating in the experiment, even if they were clearly wrong, he followed suit and gave the same wrong answer.
Maybe that’s why you often choose the same meals as your friend when you go out to lunch!
10- Our favorite topic to talk about is ourselves.
Don’t blame your friend who’s too self-absorbed, it’s just the way his human brain works. According to a Harvard study, the reward centers in our brains light up more when we talk about ourselves than when we talk about other people.
Let’s be honest, we all love to talk about our feelings, our private thoughts and our life experiences, and there is nothing wrong with that… but let’s make sure that our talk is not a matter of bragging and showing off, and let’s give others a chance to talk about themselves as well.
11- Multitasking is just an illusion!
One of the most bizarre facts in psychology is that multitasking is just an illusion!
Research published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology shows that even when you think you’re doing two things at once, what you’re actually doing is rapidly switching between the two tasks, meaning you’re still focusing on one task at a time.
So it’s no wonder it’s hard to listen to your friend talking to you while you’re browsing social media, because you’re actually doing two things at the same time.
15- We involuntarily believe what we want to believe.
Humans fall victim to something called confirmation bias, which is the tendency to interpret facts in a way that confirms what we already believe. So, no matter how many facts you throw at your friend in an attempt to sway their opinions on a particular issue, there’s a good chance they’ll never change their minds.
It is one of the facts in psychology that you just have to accept and surrender that you cannot change it. This will save you a lot of trouble, when you realize that you do not have to change anyone, nor advise anyone unless they ask you to, because then they will have truly had the desire to change, otherwise they would not have come to you for advice.
16- Our minds want us to be lazy.
Evolutionarily speaking, our brains have been wired to conserve energy for survival. When food was scarce, our ancestors had to be prepared for anything and save energy for periods when food was scarce. According to a study published in Current Biology, when exercising and using a treadmill, volunteers automatically adjusted their gait to burn fewer calories.
Realizing this makes you more able to control yourself and your thoughts to achieve your dreams and goals.
When you realize that your mind prefers laziness, you will begin to ignore that inner voice that might tell you to give up and give up on any extra effort. You will work harder to stay active and motivated.
17-Multiple choices will paralyze you!
We do not mean physical paralysis here, of course, but rather paralysis of thoughts…
Researchers have provided evidence that our brains prefer a few choices over a large number of them, in what is known as the “paradox of choice.”
An experiment was conducted on a group of shoppers in a store, and the researchers found that when customers found many different types of a particular product, their willingness to buy this product was less than in the case of products with fewer types.
18- Our minds will always always always create problems.
Have you ever wondered why every time I overcome an obstacle or challenge in my life, a new problem arises?
It doesn’t mean the world is against you, but it definitely means your mind is against you!
This is not strange if you take into consideration all the previous psychological facts… The human mind, as we know, does not like to be ignorant of the future, and would rather have something negative happen than not know what will happen. In addition, it is often biased towards negative thinking and bad ideas…
All of these things will make him always create problems… and after overcoming each problem, he will naturally tend to expect a new problem instead of imagining more positive and joyful things!
19- There’s a reason you want to squeeze cute things.
Don’t worry if you’ve ever seen a baby with chubby cheeks and felt a strong urge to squeeze those cute cheeks, this is called cute aggression, and people who feel it don’t really want to hurt that cute baby.
Research published in a psychology journal has shown that the positive feelings that are generated all at once when seeing something nice require feelings of aggression as well in order to achieve a balance in feelings.
20- Power makes people care less about others.
You may have heard of the famous Stanford Prison Experiment, where a group of college students were randomly assigned to be either a prisoner or a guard in a mock prison, and the guards began harassing the prisoners. Things got so bad that the two-week experiment was called off after six days! Later studies have confirmed that when people feel they are in a position of power, they become worse at judging someone’s emotions based on their facial expressions, suggesting a lack of empathy or emotional intelligence.
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