40 facts of psychology blowing from the mind that seriously explain everything

That's why the food tastes better when someone else does.


The human psyche is infinitely complex, which means that new research goes out every day that contributes to illuminate why we are the way we are. And while some psychological studies provide us with fairly banal psychology facts (for example, aStudy of the University of Rochester Confirmed that, get ready for that, people are happier on weekends), others are really enlightening.

Here we gathered psychologyfacts This explains the human nature - and could simply illuminate some of the models you notice in you and the others. Why do you thinkThe food has better taste When someone else does why you always see human faces in inanimate objects, it is the psychological facts that explain the mind that explains everything.

If we have a plan B, our plan A is less likely to work.

From time to time, it hurts to be prepared. In a series of experiences of theUniversity of Pennsylvania, researchers have found that when volunteers have thought of a backup plan before starting a task, they worse than those who did not think of a B. Plan. Moreover, when they realized that they had options, their motivation for the first time to give up. The researchers emphasize that thinking about coming is a good idea, but you might have more success if you keep these vague planes.

Fear can feel good - if we are not really in danger.

Everyone does not like frightening movies, but for the people who do it, there are some theories about why it's the main hormone descendent. WhenYou look at a scary movie or through a haunted house, you get all the adrenalines, the endorphins and the dopamine of a fighting or flying answer, but no matter how afraid you feel, your brain recognizes that you are not really in Danger - So you have it natural high without risk.

"Catching" a yawn could help us get binding.

Why are you doing when someone else does, even if you're not tired? There are some theories about whyyawning is contagiousBut one of the benefits is that it shows empathy. People less likely to show empathy - like toddlers who have not yet learned or that young autism - are also less likely to yawn in the reaction to someone else.

We care more about one person than massive tragedies.

In otherStudy of the University of Pennsylvania, a group learned about a little girl who hung up death, another learned that millions of dying hunger and a third learned on both situations. People have made more than twice as much money when they hear the little girl when they hear the statistics - and even the group who had heard his story in the context of the greatest given tragedy less. Psychologists think we are wired tohelp the person in front of usBut when the problem feels too big, we think our little part does not do a lot of things.

The beginnings and extremities are easier to remember than munges.

When people are invited to recall articles from a list, they are most likely to think about things in the end, or from the beginning, have found a study published inBorders of human neuroscience. The way is confused, which could also play why you remember your boss by pressing his presentation, but not so much in the middle.

It takes five positive things to prevail over a single negative thing.

Our brain has somethingcalled a "negativity bias" it makes usremember that the bad news more than goodThat's why you quickly forget that your colleague complimented your presentation, but continue to stay on the fact that a child at the bus stop has insulted your shoes. To feel balanced, we need at least five to a ration of good in our lives.

The food tastes better when someone else does it.

You are always asked why this pint of the street pint in the street is better than those you make at home, even if you use the same ingredients? A study published in the journalScienceI found that when you have a meal, you are around him so long that it feels less exciting when you dig into reality and that, afterwards, decreases your pleasure.

We would prefer to know something wrong to come and not know what to expect.

Researchers who have published their work in the newspaperNature have found that it is less stressful to know that something negative is about to arrive (for example, there is no chance we are going to reach a meeting in time) that when we do not know how Things will work (for example, we could be in time after all). This is because the part of our brain predicts consequences - so good or bad is the most active when it does not know what to expect. If walking on the gas will help you to beat traffic, we will go through this stress instead of just accepting that we will have to haveme with a decent excuse when (not if) we are late.

We always try to return a favor.

These are not just a good manner - the "reciprocity rule"suggests that we are programmed want to help someone who helped us. This has probably developed because, to keep the company to work smoothly, people must help each other. The shops (and some frenimias) like to use this against you, offering freebies in the hope that you will spend money.

When a rule seems too strict, we want to break more.

Psychologistshave studied a phenomenon Called reactance: When people perceive some freedoms removed, they did not break that the rule, but they break even more than they would otherwise otherwise in order to regain their freedom. This could be one of the best psychology facts to explain why a teenager who can not use his phone in class will chew gum while sneaking a text.

Our favorite subject is ourselves.

Do not blame your self-absorbed brother to talk about himself - it's as if his brain is wired. The reward centers of our brains illuminate more when we talk about ourselves that when we talk about other people, according toA HARVARD STUDY.

There is a reason why we want to squeeze cute things.

"It's so cute, I just had to smachish until he bursts!" It's called the aggression of kindness and people who think that does not really want to crush this adorable puppy. Search published inBorders in behavioral neuroscienceI found that when we feel overwhelmed by positive emotions - as we do when looking at an incredibly cute baby animal, a little aggression helps us balancing this top.

Our brain tries to make annoying speeches more interesting.

University of GlasgowThe researchers found that In the same way we hear voices in our heads when we read aloud, our brain "speak" on boring speeches. If someone speaks monotonous, we make him subconsciously more lively in our heads.

Some people like to see anger in others.

InUniversity of Michigan, people with high testosterone have remembered more information when they have been twinned with angry face than one or more neutral face, indicating that they have found angry glare rewarding. Researchers said it could mean that some people like to make someone else by bursting - the longer than the flash of anger does not last long enough to be a threat - which could be the reason why this Guy in the office will not let go that stupid joke at your expense.

We are automatically second-owe ourselves when other people disagree.

In a famous experience of the 1950s, studentshave been invited to report Which three lines were the same length as the fourth. When they heard others (who were in the experiment), choose an answer that was clearly false, the participants followed their heads and gave the same misplays.

We are not as good at the multitasking we think we are.

Research published in theExperimental Psychology JournalShows that even when you think you do two things at a time, what you really do, you go quickly between both tasks - you always focus on one at a time. No wonder it is so difficult to listen to your partner while scrolling the Instagram.

We are convinced that the future is brilliant.

It does not matter if you like where you are now or not - most of us have a "optimism bias" that convinces us the future will be better than the present, according to research inCurrent biology. We suppose we will get up in our career, never divorced,Raising small angels of childrenand live with a mature old age. These might not all be realistic for everyone, but there is no trouble to dream.

We believe (involuntarily) what we want to believe.

Humans are victims of somethingcalled confirmation bias: The tendency to interpret facts in a way that confirms what we already believe. So, no matter how many facts you launch to your uncle trying to swing his political opinions, there is a good chance that he will not move. This is one of the facts of psychology that you just need to accept that you can not change.

Our brain wants us to be lazy.

Speaking evolutionary, the conservation of energy is a good thing - when the food was rare, our ancestors still had to be ready to be ready. Unfortunately, for anyone to look at their weight, it's always true today. A small study published inCurrent biology I found that when walking on a treadmill, volunteers would automatically adjust their approach to burning less calories.

Being alone is bad for our health.

The researchers found that fewer friends a person has, the highest levels of the blood coagulation protein fibrinogen. TheThe effect was so strongthat having 15 friends instead of 25 years was as bad as smoking.

You are scheduled to love the music you have the busiest in high school.

The music we love gives us a success of dopamine and other chemicals of well-being, and this is even stronger when we are young because our brain is growing. From the age of 12 to 22, everything feels more important, so we tend to emphasize these more years and hang on these musical memories.

"Researchers have discovered proofs that suggest that our brains attach to the music we have heard of teenagers closer than anything we hear as adults - a connection that does not weaken us ages", writesMark Joseph Stern forSlate.

Memoirs look more like reconstituted images than specific snapshots.

Even people with the best memories of the world can have "false memories". The brain usually remembers the essence of what is happening, then fills in the rest - sometimes incorrectly, which explains why you insist on your wife with you at a party six years ago, even if it was adamante that she was not.

There is a reason that some color combinations are difficult in your eyes.

When you see light blue and red right next to each other,Your brain thinks The red is closer than the blue, allowing you to practice your eyes crossed. Ideme goes for other combinations, like red and green.

Put information in bite pieces helps you remind you.

Your short-term memorycan only hold on to so much information at a time (unless you try one of theSimple ways to improve your memory), That's why you use "Chunking" to remind you long figures. For example, if you try to memorize this number: 90655372, you probably naturally thought something like 906-553-72.

You remember better than if you have been tested on them.

Sorry, the kids! One of the most useful psychology facts is that the tests really work. A study published in the journalPsychological science found that people are more likely to store information in their long-term memory if they were tested on the information (the better they are) than if they study and do not need to remember right away .

Too many choices can become paralyzing.

The whole "paradox of choice" theory has been criticized by researchers who say it has not been shown in studies, but our brains prefer some one-ton options. When singles at Speed-dating eventsmet more people And these people had more diversity in factors such as age and occupation, participants have chosen fewer potential dates.

When you feel like you if you are weak on something (like money), you'll see you on it.

Psychologistshave found that The brain is sensitive to the scarcity - the feeling you have lacked something you need. When farmers have a good cash flow, for example, they tend to be better planners than when they are tightened for money, a study found. When you feel short of money, you may need more reminders to pay bills or do housework because your mind is too busy to remember.

We continue to believe things, even when we know they are wrong.

Researchers in oneScience Fed Fed Fed Fake Information Study, then a week later revealed that the facts were not really sad. Although the volunteers knew the truth (now), the analyzes of the FMRI showed that they always believed that misinformation is always half the time. This is one of the facts of psychology to know that couldmake you smarter.

We are looking for human faces, even in inanimate objects.

Most of us did not see Jesus in a piece of toast, but we all noticed Cartoonish faces that apparently look at us inanimate objects. It's called Pareidolia, andScientists think It comes from the fact that the recognition of the faces is so important for the social life that our brains prefer to find one where there is not only to miss a real face.

We will always always find a problem.

Have you ever wondered why when a problem solves, another takes its place? It's not that the world is against you - but your brain could be, in a sense. The researchers have asked volunteers to choose people looking for computer-generated faces threatening. "As we show fewer and less threatening people with threatening faces over time, we found that they expanded their definition of" threatening "to include a wider range of faces," writesResearcher David Levari, PhD. "In other words, when they missed with threatening faces to find, they started calling threatening faces to carry out to call harmless."

We would prefer to penetrate the facts that change our beliefs about people.

Humans hate "cognitive dissonance": When a fact bothers something, we believe. That's why, when, we hear that a loved one does something wrong or garbage, we sap that it was really, otherwise we tell us that Exaggerates science when a study tells us that we really need to move more.

People get up to our high expectations (and do not get up if we have good bases).

You may have heard about the pygmalion effect before-fundamentally, we do well when other people think we're going, and we do not do well when people expect us to miss. The idea came from a famous1960s study In which researchers told teachers that some students (chosen random) had a high potential based on Qi tests. These students have actually contributed to high attacks, thanks to the expectations of their teachers in them.

Social media are designed psychologically to be addictive.

Said yourself that you have just checked your notifications on Facebook and 15 minutes later, you still scroll? You're not alone. Part of it concerns with infinite scrolling: when you can stay on the site without interacting and clicking on your brain, your brain does not receive that.

We can convince us a boring task was fun if we were not rewarded.

Here is another excellent example of cognitive dissonance: volunteers in aPsychology of learning and motivationThe study did a boring task, then was paid or $ 1 or $ 20 to convince someone it was actually quite interesting. They received $ 20 knew why they had lied (they got a decent reward) and still thought it was boring, but those who did not only have money had collapsed that it was really fun, for their brain did not make a good reason to think they were lying down.

The power makes people worrying about others.

You probably heard about the famous Stanford Prison Experience. (Refreshness: College students were randomly assigned to be a prisoner or guard in a false prison and the "guards" began to harass the "prisoners". It has so badly that theTwo weeks experience was canceled after six days.). It is quite extreme, but subsequent studies have found that when people feel like being in a position of power, they become worse to judge the feelings of a person on the basis of their facial expressions, indicating a loss of empathy.

To our ancestors, sugar and fat were good things.

Why, Oh why should the cake taste better than vegetables? Well, because that's how we've been prepared for millions of years. For our ancestors, get a big sugar energy success, then storing it like a grease or eating a lot of fat to keep our body and fed brains meant more energy in the long run. But now that sweet fat foods are easy (a little too easy) to eat and to eat too much, our bodies are always started to store this fat, even if we do not need it.

Our brain does not think that long-term deadlines are so important.

Just everyone has procrastinated at once or another, even if we logically know that it would have more sense to jump on our taxes than to activate Netflix. We prefer urgent and unimportant tasks because we know we can complete them. There arealso proof that When we see the imminent deadline in terms of days, rather than months or years, because we feel more connected to a daily passage time.

We detach our morality when an authority tells us about.

This is one of the most old psychology facts in the books: in the 1960s, Yale Psychologist Stanley MilgrammaLed an experience That he thought would prove that the Americans would not accept immoral ordinances like Nazis. For a "learning task", volunteers were asked to provide shocks to a "learner" (an actor, little known to true volunteers) if they had a misconstitution. For Milgram horror, participants continued to deliver shocks even when the learner shouted with pain.

Money can buy happiness, but only to a certain extent.

The research shows that, in terms of income, people have a "point of satiety" where happiness pics and win more will make you more happy. Different studies have suggested various quantities (A 2010 study declared $ 75,000But a 2018 survey said $ 105,000), but the point is the same: constantly aiming more, more, more, more, do not necessarily make.

It's not just how much money we do is how we spend it.

Even if you have not specified your happiest income, your money can always determine your happiness. You probably already heard ofSearch that shows We are more satisfied when we spend money on experiences (a good meal or theater tickets) than on possessions because it helps us socialize and feel more alive. But another studyPublished inScienceFound another strategy for using money The most satisfying method: spend on other people instead of ourselves.

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