Life is full of tests of human nature. Many scholars have studied the common characteristics of human beings, allowing us to easily explain many real things.
They may not make sense on their own, but they are very interesting.
If we understand these psychological effects, we may find that we are far less understanding of ourselves than others.
These 11 interesting psychological effects may allow us to re-understand ourselves.
, memory bump
We listen to the old men and old ladies chatting in the community. In addition to talking about national affairs, they are more interested in talking about what happened when they were young.
Many elderly people or middle-aged people in their forties or fifties often talk about stories from their youth.
This phenomenon is called memory bumping.
That is to say, in the most complex and exciting years of our lives, what happens often leaves a deep impression on us.
And the changes in the past few years will also make us have stronger emotional fluctuations. After all, these few years in life represent new choices such as getting married, having children, starting a business, etc.
It is not an exaggeration to call it a turning point in life.
Some research says that what happened in the past few years can easily be extracted from our chats.
Because these things are related to self-identity and make a significant contribution to one's attitudes, beliefs, and life goals.
, Solomon's Paradox
Grossman did a very interesting experiment:
He found many lovers and asked some of them to vividly imagine that their partners had cheated, while others imagined that their good friends had cheated. Your partner is cheating on you.
Finally, Grossman asked these research participants, what should they do as a cheating partner? Participants also answered a series of questions to measure the wisdom of their decisions.
The results showed that participants who gave advice to their friends were more sensible in their approach to the problem.
This experiment conveys to us a fact: the authorities are confused and the beholder is clear.
The same is true in real life. Regardless of our age, when we think about problems, solving other people's difficulties is always more rational than solving our own difficulties.
This is why when we encounter difficulties, we can’t find a solution after thinking hard, but someone else’s casual words can make us suddenly enlightened.
So when we encounter a problem, we should withdraw ourselves from the matter and look at the problem from a third person's perspective. Maybe it will become much clearer.
, Dunning-Kruger effect
When it comes to this effect, I have to mention a very interesting thing:
One day in 1995, a bald man robbed two banks in Pittsburgh . He did not Wearing a mask and without any disguise, he robbed the bank openly.
even smiled at the camera.
When he was arrested by the police, he was a little surprised as to why the police found him so quickly.
Because he believed that as long as he applied lemon juice to his face, he would become invisible, because the invisible ink at that time was made of lemon juice.
So he thinks that he can become invisible.
But apparently not, he made a mistake about how to use lemon juice, and he paranoidly believed that he could become invisible.
When this is reflected in real life, it is often more interesting.
When a person talks loudly and talks at the wine table, he often thinks that what he said is correct, but other people's opinions are all wrong, and even a little silly.
Due to his lack of knowledge, he was completely unaware of his mistakes, and even stubbornly believed that others did not understand.
. People and dogs
According to a study, people who have irritable and aggressive personalities often breed dogs with the same characteristics.
Because in real life, people prefer to interact with people who are similar to themselves. This characteristic will extend to all daily things, including pets.
As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together, and this is pretty much the truth.
For example, those who are isolated from society or live in places with high crime rates, in addition to being under long-term stress, they themselves will become more aggressive, even if they are a good person.
Therefore, when choosing a pet, you may also be more inclined to choose a more aggressive pet.
. Daydreaming is a good thing
How many people daydream, and are distracted by something every day, imagining that they can get a promotion and a salary increase, become a CEO, marry Bai Fumei, and reach the pinnacle of life?
If you have this habit, do you feel that you are a little decadent and not focused enough?
is actually not necessary.
Because research shows that daydreaming may be a sign of intelligence and creativity.
People with high IQs tend to have a high level of divergent thinking, score higher on IQ tests, and have more energetic brains.
The brains of these people tend to "dual-purpose" when performing certain simple tasks. While doing simple things, they are fantasizing about other things.
This keeps our brains in a state of excitement and helps improve our thinking ability.
. Painful rejection
What is it like to be broken up with someone? Why does it hurt when your confession is rejected?
When we see these problems, we subconsciously feel that pain is actually just a feeling. If we are rejected or fall out of love, we will not really feel heartache.
This is not the case.
When we are rejected, a certain part of the brain is activated, and the body responds accordingly.
Heartache or vomiting are all the results of such feedback.
Never think that the pain of being rejected is just a feeling, it is actually real.
And the harm caused is far greater than imagined.
7. Foreign languages make us think rationally
Speaking a foreign language or our mother tongue can actually affect our decision-making.
Because when speaking a foreign language, we must subconsciously suppress the urge to speak our mother tongue, which can help us think more rationally.
When speaking the mother tongue, there is no such concern at all, because all reactions are conditioned reflexes formed subconsciously.
In other words, when speaking a foreign language, we must force ourselves to think calmly and rationally so that we can organize the language;
When speaking our native language, we may make more impulsive decisions based entirely on personal preferences.
This kind of decision-making bias completely means different life choices in many things.
As a result, individuals make more rational decisions when speaking a foreign language.
8, Fundamental attribution error
The story of " Zou Ji satirized the King of Qi and accepted advice " is actually a typical fundamental attribution error.
Zou Ji was the Prime Minister of Qi State. One day, he wanted to know whose appearance was more outstanding compared with Xu Gong in the north of the city, so he asked his wife, concubines and friends, "I and Xu Gong in the north of the city." Which one is more beautiful?" Everyone unanimously responded: "Xu Gong is not as beautiful as the king."
Zou Ji was satisfied after hearing this, until one day he saw Mr. Xu himself and felt that he was not as good as Mr. Xu. After looking in the mirror, he felt that he was far behind compared with Mr. Xu.
Zou Ji found that his cognition was not consistent with what everyone said, because he completely ignored the relationship between his wife, concubines and friends.
That’s why I came to this understanding later: “My wife who beautifies me is a private person; my concubine who beautifies me is afraid of me; my guest who beautifies me is a person who wants to ask for something from me.”
Therefore, when we evaluate something or a person, we must pay attention to avoid basic attribution errors, especially in families.
Your wife’s nagging is not because she doesn’t love you anymore, but because she is in trouble at work; your child doesn’t like to talk, not because he is introverted, but because the environment prevents him from finding opportunities to speak.
Maybe your wife has prepared a delicious meal for you, or maybe your children are optimistic and cheerful when playing with their friends.
We always overestimate dispositional factors and underestimate situational factors.
9. Third person effect
Do we like to hear others praise ourselves?
Are we also curious about our impression in the minds of others?
The two are actually contradictory, because when you ask others, it is difficult for others to truly express their thoughts, and most of the time they will praise you.
After all, others don’t want to offend you.
But if you are not present and other people's praise is conveyed through a third person, you will feel particularly happy.
Because you feel that this is the true evaluation of yourself by others.
mentioned the third person effect in "The Role of the Third Person Effect in Communication". In fact, from my personal understanding, a very practical example can be used to illustrate:
For example, we have taken a fancy to a water glass, but we are not sure whether its quality is reliable. Although the media and web pages describe it very comprehensively, we Concerns remain.
If a third party appears at this time and claims that this cup is very good, then we will most likely choose to believe it and believe it without any doubt.
0. Short-term pleasure
We can forget about it and watch short videos for several hours without feeling bored. The mechanism of short videos like
is to give us a sense of short-term pleasure.
Of course it all comes down to the reward loop of seeking dopamine .
Dopamine is known as the pleasure chemical because it causes you to seek enjoyment and pleasurable activities such as eating, sex, drugs, etc. But dopamine also makes you curious and information-seeking!
So when we browse web pages or short videos, we will be attracted by the various contents inside. thus completely ignoring time.
The disturbing thing is that you are never satisfied with the amount of information available! So you might just keep scrolling until something interrupts you.
1. Helping others makes me live longer
Have we ever encountered such a thing:
If you give up your seat to others on the subway, you will be happy all day;
If you help an old man cross the road, your mood will also change. Be more relaxed and happy;
When we help others, we also improve our own happiness and inner joy.
And regular volunteering can also help us manage stress and avoid illness, while also increasing our sense of fulfillment in life.
Psychologists have found that people who regularly volunteer tend to live longer than those who do not participate in such activities.
Conclusion:
These 11 psychological effects have allowed us to see many interesting phenomena happening around us and understand many of the principles.
Perhaps these small experiments are not suitable for everyone, but for ourselves, they can be used as a reference and learning.
They provide us with a good way for us to take the initiative to grow.
These may not be enough to change our lives, but at least they can help us understand ourselves better.
