The human brain gets entangled like Rapunzel’s hair when we try to know more about it. The human psyche is alluring as well as mysterious.
Therefore, new studies, experiments, and research are published every year that make us know the human brain or nature better than before.
There are so many psychological facts about ourselves that we do not know of. Maybe we never thought of these and paid any heed to them.
So, grab some popcorn as I am about to get the ball rolling! Here are 10 psychological facts you never knew before, backed by scientific studies.
1. We care about a single person way more than enormous tragedies.
The University of Pennsylvania conducted three studies, where they explored the patterns of people’s minds who had donated money: to a little girl starving to death and millions of people dying because of hunger.
They noticed that people donated more money to the little girl than the millions dying of hunger. Because people think that their contribution will not matter much when the problem is enormous.
In case of minor or solvable problems, the human mind assumes the contributions to be more worthy. So, it concluded that humans care more about the person in front of them than the worldly problem.
2. Five positive things can outweigh one negative thing
Have you ever noticed that you quickly forget a friend’s compliment on your dress but keep dwelling on the fact that your neighbor laughed at your shoes?
This is because our brain has a ‘negativity bias.’ It means our brain is fond of remembering bad news and incidents more than the good ones.
3. Food cooked by someone else’s hands tastes better than yours
Ever thought about why that burger from the food court on the next Street tastes much better than what you cook at home even after using the exact recipe?
It is because you are around the food while cooking it, all the time. Which makes it less exciting by the time you consume it.
A study published by the famous Journal Science showed it.
4. We love to talk about ourselves
You must have wondered why your little sister keeps talking about herself whenever possible. It’s because her brain is carved like that.
A study by Harvard showed that our brain’s dopamine increased whenever we started talking about ourselves.
5. In ancient times, fat and sugar were actually good
In earlier times, the human body worked as a warehouse to store energy as fats. It was because of the lack and uncertainty of food. This helped our ancestors get charged quickly and store energy as fats.
If you always wondered why the heck donuts taste so much delicious than vegetables, then this is the answer—sweet gives the human body a quick, great energy boost.
Or, maybe, our body still remembers how it used to store fats in ancient times. What say?
6. Our brain saves us during boring speeches
Our brain is always there to entertain us even in the yawning-but-awake kind of moments too.
When you are attending a boring speech, your brain talks over and makes the monotonous speech interesting or understandable. Researchers at Glasgow University found this.
7. When others disagree, we rethink our decision immediately
Have you ever noticed that you second-guessed your choice or your opinion about something the moment you heard your friend say the opposite?
It is because our brain is made that way. An experiment conducted in the 1950s shows it clearly.
8. Multitasking is not our cup of coffee
You might be in the illusion that you are a pro at chatting and listening to music simultaneously.
But, my friend, you are just switching your attention from one task to another. The Journal of Experimental Psychology proves this.
9. We assume that the future is bright
You might have heard your friend saying everything will become good in the future, or you tell yourself that you will have the best kids, the best car, etcetera.
This is what your brain does, called ‘optimism bias,’ as clearly said by the research in Current Biology.
10. Laziness is the brain’s ancient tactic to save ourselves
In ancient times, food was not readily available, and most of the time, it was in scarcity.
To cope with this, our brain used to make us lazy to ensure less energy consumption. It is still prevalent today, as the research done by Current Biology says.
So, these were the amazing 10 unique psychological facts you probably did not know but might have thought about them at some point. Our brain is a fascinating thing, to be honest. Fun Fact—Your brain just studied its weird behaviors in this piece and is admiring it.
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