Read about and understand the various psychological phenomena you observe in your day-to-day life. Get answers to common curiosities about everyday behavior. Understanding the root causes of your behaviors and those of others will greatly improve your understanding of human psychology. No human behavior, however small, is insignificant.
This article will throw light on the major psychological causes of superstitions. While people have countless superstitious beliefs, the underlying psychological tendencies that give rise to them are more or less the same. Superstitions are everywhere. From the chain messages that ask you to ‘forward this to 10 people and something good will happen soon’ …
Simply put, a cognitive bias is a biased way of thinking that conflicts with logic and rationality. As much as we like to call ourselves rational, the truth is that the human psyche is loaded with many cognitive biases. Being rational, therefore, is a continuous process of being aware of these biases and not letting …
We don’t always perceive time as it flows. In other words, there can be a discrepancy between psychological time and actual time shown by a clock. Primarily, our mental states influence or distort our perception of time. Our minds have an amazing ability to keep track of time, despite the fact that we have no sensory …
You listen to a new song that you like and make your sibling, partner or best friend hear it, often against their will. You watch a brilliant movie or a TV show and go about recommending it to everyone. You read a chilling novel and swear to your friends that they’d be thrilled if they check …
The Zeigarnik effect states that we have a tendency to remember unfinished tasks. It is named after the psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik who, in the late 1920s, discovered that waiters had a tendency to remember un-served orders. She also observed that as soon as the orders were served, the waiters seemed to completely forget about them. The …
Ever had that experience where you see a friend on the street and walk up to greet them, only to realize that they’re a complete stranger? Ever mistaken a total stranger for your crush or lover? What’s funny is that sometimes you realize they’re a stranger after you’ve greeted them and they’ve greeted you back. Even funnier is when …
Many believe our first reaction to stress or impending danger is the fight-or-flight response. But before we take flight or fight, we need time to assess the situation and decide what the best course of action would be to fight or run away. This results in what is known as ‘the freeze response’ and is …
In this article, we discuss self-sabotage behavior, reasons why people engage in this behavior, and common examples of self-sabotaging behaviors. How many times do you hear people telling you, rather sanctimoniously, “Be yourself”? And to complete the famous Oscar Wilde quote, they add, “Everyone else is taken”. Let’s say you decide to heed the advice. …
Think about it: Will I be exaggerating if I say that a part of your behavior and personality is shaped by the things that you see on the screen? Definitely not! It is naive to think that television is a harmless pastime activity that doesn’t affect your psyche in any way. Every thinking person knows that anything you expose your mind to, affects it. Your …
This article attempts to explain the famous placebo effect in psychology, throwing light on the historical background of the effect. You go to a doctor with a severe headache and fever. After examining you for a while, he gives you some shiny pills and asks you to take them every day after meals. He says …