Humans, the most intelligent beings on Earth, are undeniably the most curious as well. This curiosity didn’t end with exploring the outside world, though. Instead, it led us to wonder what is within this body and why it is the way it is.
Psychology --- The science of mind and behavior, has been able to answer some of these never-ending questions in a way that makes sense.
Today, I’ll be sharing with you some facts about human brains and behaviors, that you might have experienced, but were not really aware of them being backed by the science of psychology.
1)Brain's Autopilot Mechanism:
Have you ever realized while performing a task that your brain is not even thinking about it?
Well, I’m talking about those times when you are physically working on something without any conscious awareness. It’s just happening automatically while your brain is busy solving another problem.
Sounds familiar?
Apparently, our brains resemble patterns and are quick to adapt to the working mechanisms of actions after repeating them several times. This allows us to be able to unconsciously complete tasks even when our thoughts are involved elsewhere.
So, next time when you drive home without consciously being very attentive, ( never do that, by the way) remember that your mind was on autopilot!
2)Perceptual Expectancy:
Ever wondered what could be the possible reasoning behind optical illusions?
You see something, while your sibling sees something else. Yeah, it’s probably built that way.
But do you know that it happens because of our abilities to perceive things differently from each other? Yes, our perceptions vary vividly depending upon our past experiences. They are strongly influenced by our expectations, beliefs, and interests; which are different for different people.
Perceptual expectancy is a tendency to view things according to our own outlook.
So, if you presume somehow that the subject topic you need to study today is too difficult to understand, you might actually find it way too difficult!
3)Brains treat emotional and physical pain equally:
This is probably why you get that much hurt whenever you face rejection.
Psychology suggests that when a person undergoes an emotional breakdown, the exact same portions of the brain get stimulated as when he/she experiences a physical agony.
Isn’t that crazy?
In other words, regardless of the pain being physical or mental, our neural system identifies and reacts to it almost in a similar manner.
This means that heartbreaks or rejection can hurt for real. And, it’s not just in your head! (Or maybe, it is🧐)
4)Cognitive Dissonance:
Sometimes you come across an entirely new piece of information, which happens to be contradictory towards the already existing set of beliefs inside your mind. Do you remember the discomfort you feel in situations like these?
You get super-annoyed, don’t you?
It’s almost like a conflict within the boundaries of your brain. Your mind turns into a battleground. And, you try your best to resolve this by aligning with one of the two ideas or by establishing a connection between them.
Do you know why?
Because your brain doesn’t like inconsistencies at all!
Two contradictory beliefs tend to create inconsistencies within your brain. Psychology says that people feel immensely uncomfortable when this happens, and try their level best to justify things to themselves!
5)Hindsight Bias:
“I knew it. I was so right about it!”
How many times do you feel that you can predict situations accurately?
After an event takes place, if you try to convince yourself that you could have predicted the outcome well enough, then you might be undergoing ‘Hindsight Bias’.
Hindsight Bias is a psychological condition wherein we become overconfident about our abilities. And, we might even end up thinking that we can predict the future!
I hate to burst your bubble, people. But you ain’t having any superpowers.
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