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| Blow your mind with Psychological Facts |
My dear readers today we are going to learn about some psychological facts that will blow your mind ...
The dunning-Kruger effect in 1999
two social psychologists discovered something about intelligent people they rarely think they're smart in fact they often rank
themselves way below average on the other hand people with low intelligence do the exact opposite they almost always overestimate their rank by a longshot the Dunning-Kruger effect basically proves the old adage ignorance is bliss let's say you're trying to learn how to draw when
you finish your first drawing you'll probably think you're great at it but once you practice and
realize how much you don't know you won't think you're very good anymore this is why people
with low intelligence often rate themselves so highly they don't understand how little they know
just look at the man who inspired Dunning and Kruger's original experiment he decided to put
lemon juice on his face to rob banks since lemon juice is used to make invisible ink he
believed he was completely invisible to the bank's cameras, of course, that wasn't true
he just had high expectations and no knowledge so he thought of himself as a genius.
Remember remembering what's your earliest memory you might remember playing with your parents
in the park or one of your first birthdays but can you actually remember that far back
neuroscientists recently discovered that your memory works a lot differently than most people
think when you think back to that early memory your mind isn't jumping back in time it's
remembering the last time you remembered in other words your memory is like playing the telephone every time
you re-remember something it changes a little bit more eventually you won't be able to tell
what actually happened and what you added along the way number three music changes perception the
type of music you listen to actually affects how you view the world around you we all know that
music can change your mood an upbeat song can leave you feeling on top of the world while a sad one
can send you into a downward spiral but that's not all 2011 studies looked at whether or not
music could affect the way you perceive your environment subjects were asked to identify happy and sad
faces while different songs played turned out people struggle to recognize happy faces
during sad songs and vice versa the music was making them see things that weren't there it created something called a perceptual expectation when you hear one thing through your ears your
brain will expect to see something similar through your eyes this is why music can improve a workout
or help after a breakup it sets the tone by creating that perceptual expectation number four
foreign language logic we all make bad decisions but what if I told you that you could think more
rationally if you do it in another language a study from The University of Chicago found that people make
more logical choices when using a second language our reasoning skills are divided into two parts
one is systematic and logical while the other is unconscious and emotional when you use your
first language you let that emotional side take over your biases and knee-jerk reactions cloud
your judgment when you use a less natural language that rational side steps in you're forced to
put more thought into what you say next time you're about to accept a new job or make a big
purchase frame it in a different language then you'll know whether or not it's actually a good idea
number five singing reduces anxiety singing in the car or shower is a great way to fend off anxiety and depression let's say you're driving into work you're about to give the most important presentation of your life naturally you're a nervous wreck so how can you keep yourself
calm turn on your favourite song and sing as loud as you can it sounds ridiculous but singing floods
your brain with endorphins and oxytocin both of them relieve stress and improve your mood they make
you feel comfortable while keeping your heart rate and cortisol levels are low and don't worry you don't
have to be good even if you're the worst singer in the the world like me belting it can reduce anxiety
and turn your day around number six rejection hurts imagine you made a new friend over the
weekend but when you ask them to hang out a few days later they blow you off what does that feel like to your brain you might
as well have been punched in the face that's because our brains process emotional and physical pain
the same way both kinds of pain release the same chemicals and activate the
same areas if you've ever wondered why social rejection hurts so much this is why number seven
canonical perspective have you ever thought about how things look in your memory in the 1980's
psychologists discovered that we remember almost all objects from the canonical perspective, that means we
see things from the side and slightly above if you don't believe me try and draw a cup
did you draw one circle as though you were looking down on it or did you draw it from the side
and add an angle so you could just barely see inside well there are a few individual exceptions
you unconsciously see most objects from the exact same vantage point number eight evolving
anxiety about 15 years ago a study found that the average high school student was as anxious as the
average psychiatric patient in the 1950s over the last few decades mental health conditions like anxiety
and mood disorders have become increasingly common in fact they're treated as a normal thing if
that study were conducted today I'm sure the numbers would be through the roof as humanity becomes
more disconnected stress and scared it's more important than ever to pay attention to your mental
health number nine the negativity gene what if negativity wasn't a choice a 2013 study found that some
people are genetically predisposed to negative thoughts this means you automatically react
with stronger negative emotions in that study researchers looked at how people with this
gene reacted to various images while most people enjoy pictures of waterfalls and beaches people with
the negativity gene found them dangerous and alarming when shown a picture of a crowded room they
honed in on angry or sad faces so if you're a naturally the negative or cautious person you may have been born that way.
Healthy sarcasm being sarcastic can actually improve the health of
your brain while sarcasm can be insulting it's one of the most common signs of intelligence are sarcastic people tend to be quick witty and creative their sarcasm may make them unlikable but they excel
at thinking outside the box biologically sarcastic comments require quite a bit of brain
function you have to instantly understand tone meaning and perspective then spin them in a way that
makes something funny this is why sarcastic people are so good at understanding abstract concepts
and solving complex problems number eleven the power of sunlight have you ever noticed you feel
down when you've been inside all day but when you walk outside your mood instantly changes sunlight
isn't just good for your bones it can actually prevent mood disorders like depression the vitamin D
you get from the Sun act as a mood stabilizer and releases pleasurable hormones in your brain
this is why people in countries with less sunlight are more likely to be depressed all you need
is 10 minutes of direct sunlight to literally and figuratively brighten up your world.
Dopamine addiction why is it so easy to stare at your phone, for hours on end, a recent study found that texting and social media trigger the release of dopamine in your brain dopamine
is commonly associated with pleasure but that isn't why you can't put your phone down dopamine
plays another important role it controls desire it tells you when you want something and compels you
to get it this is what pushes you to keep talking clicking or scrolling each time you do
dopamine sends more pleasure signals to the brain it's a dangerous cycle because the longer you let it go on the harder it is to break.
The sleepers paradox after sleeping for 10 or
11 hours, how do you feel you gave your brain plenty of time to relax and detoxify yet somehow you feel tired almost like you didn't sleep enough sleeping too much is just as detrimental as
not sleeping enough it will leave you feeling foggy and fatigued because it throws off your
biological clock imagine you're trying to do a flip if you don't flip enough you fall but when you flip
too much the same thing happens you have to hit it just right sleeping works the same way the
only way to avoid feeling tired is to sleep the perfect amount.
Reading faster have you ever wondered why newspapers use such thin columns years ago publishers figured out that people
liked shorter lines people were more likely to keep reading so newspapers kept their lines between
30 and 50 characters since we like short lines better shouldn't we read them faster too
psychologists recently discovered the opposite short lines make us read slower 100 characters is
actually the ideal line length even though it's double or triple what most newspapers and magazines
use.
Mood sickness being in a bad mood isn't just hard on your brain, it can significantly
impact your physical health our bodies and brains are inexplicably tied together when
one suffers the other does too so when you're feeling unhappy you might have aches inflammation, and
lower immune function so if you can try to find ways to improve your mental state every single
day happiness is a big part of being healthy thank you for reading Top think because more incredible content is on the way
