Brainy Dose Presents: 11 Interesting Psychological Facts About Human
Behavior Have you ever wondered why we think, feel,
and behave in the ways that we do? It’s a source of fascination for many. After all, the way our minds function has
a lot to do with how we do things and how we are. Human behavior, brain function, and mental
processes have been studied extensively. And while there are still a lot of unanswered
questions, and there is a long way to go, by learning about the fundamentals of behavior
and the human mind, we're able to gain a better understanding of ourselves and others. In this video, we have gathered some truly
interesting facts about the psychology of human behavior that will help better understand
why we think, feel, and behave in certain ways. Let's jump right in! Number 1 - Things That Happen to Us in Early
Adulthood Stay with Us Long-Term Have you ever noticed how often older people
talk about their early twenties? Or have you ever wondered why so many people
love coming of age stories? Well, this phenomenon is referred to as the
reminiscence bump. You see, we have a preference for recalling
experiences from adolescence and early adulthood, primarily due to the emotional intensity of
this period because of the number of choices and changes that occur during that time. Graduation, marriage, the birth of a child;
these are all new experiences, making them much more memorable. Research also suggests that memories are easily
accessible from the reminiscence bump because they are linked to self-identity and significantly
contribute to an individual's attitudes, beliefs, and life goals. Number 2 - Thinking About Your Problems from
A Third-Person Perspective Allows You to Find Effective Solutions Would you say you think about other people's
problems more clearly and sensibly than your own? According to research, the answer for most
people is yes, and this known as the Solomon's paradox. People, regardless of age, are more likely
to think more rationally while contemplating someone else’s difficulties than when addressing
their own problems. That said, a self-distancing strategy can
eliminate this bias. So, the next time you're faced with a personal
dilemma, practice your reasoning skills by taking a step back and considering your situation
from an outsider's perspective. Number 3 - Those Most Incompetent Are the
Least Aware of Their Own Incompetence You've probably witnessed this happen; maybe
around the dinner table during a holiday family gathering. During the meal, an extended family member
begins talking about something, claiming to be right, and everyone else is foolish, ignorant,
or just plain wrong. This person's lack of knowledge is obvious
to everyone in the room. Yet, they continue to ramble on, blissfully
unaware of their own ignorance. This is called the Dunning-Kruger effect,
a cognitive bias in which people think they are smarter and more capable than they actually
are. Their poor self-awareness and low cognitive
ability leads them to overestimate their actual capabilities. Number 4 - Hostile People Tend to Own More
Aggressive Dogs Research shows that anger, aggression, and
hostility are more common in the personality of owners of stereotypically violent breeds. Could it be possible that people choose dogs
that are an extension of themselves? We typically select friends and partners with
similar interests and tendencies. So, why not pets? Perhaps. But other factors may also influence people's
aggression and their choice of violent breeds. For instance, those who are socially isolated,
have fewer visitors, or live in high-crime neighborhoods are more likely to be under
chronic stress, possibly making them more aggressive and thus, they would be more inclined
to pick a guard dog such as a Rottweiler or Pit Bull. Number 5 - Daydreamers Are More Creative Do you tend to get in trouble for daydreaming
in class or during a meeting at work? Mind-wandering is often viewed as a negative
trait, but it's not necessarily the case. In fact, daydreaming may indicate intelligence
and creativity! According to research, high measured intelligence
and creativity go hand-in-hand with high levels of mind-wandering. What's more, frequent daydreamers not only
tend to score higher on IQ tests, but their brains also appear to be more efficient. Yes, some people have more efficient brains
than others which translates into an increased capacity to think and, as a result, their
brains may wander when performing easy tasks. They can zone in and out of discussions or
tasks when appropriate, then seamlessly tune back in without losing crucial details or
steps. Number 6 - Rejection Literally Hurts You Have you ever felt like you got punched in
the stomach after being rejected by someone? Why is that? Well, apparently, that's how our minds are
wired to respond. Turns out, the same parts of our brains get
activated when we experience rejection as when we experience physical pain. That's why even small rejections hurt more
than they should as they elicit literal, though emotional, pain. Number 7 - Speaking in A Foreign Language
Changes Your Decisions You might think that people would make the
same decisions no matter what language they were using, or that the difficulty of using
a foreign language would make decisions less systematic. However, the opposite is true. Using a foreign language is shown to reduce
decision-making biases. When speaking a foreign language, we need
to suppress our native language. And, in order to think rationally, we have
to suppress our innate intuitions. Brain imaging studies show the same parts
of the brain are involved in both foreign-language use and rational thought. And when foreign-language speakers activate
their brain's inhibition center, their intuitions and emotions are also inhibited. As a result, individuals make more rational
decisions when speaking a foreign language. Number 8 - We Blame a Person's Behavior On
Their Personality (Unless It's Us) Have you ever been infuriated by someone cutting
you off while driving, only to do the same thing to someone else a few minutes later? And while the person who cut you off enraged
you, and your reaction was along the lines of “what a jerk” or “this guy is an
a$$hole,” you're likely to have justified your behavior to yourself since you were in
a hurry and you only did it once. Unfortunately, we tend to believe that others
do bad things because they are bad people. This is known as the fundamental attribution
error, the propensity to explain a person's behavior by referring to their character rather
than any situational context. Number 9 - We Believe That Other People Are
More Susceptible to Persuasion Than We Are We seem to be more aware of how advertising
affects other people than we are of how it affects us. And this is referred to as the third person
effect. People can see how an advertisement or a persuasive
message affects their peers but not how it affects them. Further, they are more inclined to deny its
influence, and it’s even worse when it’s an ad for something they have little interest
in. You may not realize it, but the mass media
messages you are subjected to regularly, subconsciously affect your mood, desires, and even attitude. Number 10 - Dopamine Makes You Addicted to
Seeking Information Have you ever found yourself scrolling through
your social media feed for hours on end? It all comes down to the dopamine-seeking
reward loop. Dopamine is known as the pleasure chemical
because it causes you to seek enjoyment and pleasurable activities such as eating, sex,
drugs, and so on. But dopamine also makes you become curious
and seek information! So, as you're scrolling through your feed,
your dopamine loop is activated, making you want to keep scrolling for more information. The troubling part is that you will never
be quite satisfied with the amount of information available! You'll probably keep scrolling until something
interrupts you. Number 11 - Regularly Helping Others Can Help
You Live Longer Volunteering your time, money, or energy to
assist others is beneficial to the world, and yourself. Giving back to the community has been shown
to boost happiness, health, and sense of well-being. Regularly volunteering can help manage stress
and ward off sickness while also increasing your sense of fulfillment in life. This might be due to the fact that volunteering
reduces loneliness and improves our social lives. Moreover, psychologists have found that those
who volunteer frequently, tend to live longer than those who don't participate in such activities. Now, even though these facts are fascinating
and reveal a lot about human nature, keep in mind that most of them were discovered
after conducting research with small groups of people. Nevertheless, they do provide a fantastic
way to raise questions and begin digging into the mysterious world of psychological research. If you enjoyed this video, give it a thumbs-up,
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