The human brain is a fascinating, complex machine, constantly shaping our thoughts, decisions, and behaviors in ways we barely notice. From how we perceive ourselves and others to how we shop, remember, and even fall in love, countless psychological effects influence our daily lives—often without us realizing it. Some of these quirks help us navigate the world, while others trick us into making irrational choices. In this article, we uncover 50 mind-bending psychological effects that reveal the brain’s hidden tricks, shedding light on the strange and surprising ways our minds work.
1 Selective Attention in Noisy Rooms
The Cocktail Party Effect allows the brain to focus on a single conversation in a noisy room. This ability helps us tune into specific voices while filtering out background chatter. Even when we are not paying attention, we can still recognize important words like our name.
2. The Coolidge Effect describes a biological phenomenon in animals where males show renewed sexual interest whenever a new female is introduced, even if previous partners remain available.
3. The Martha Mitchell Effect occurs when medical professionals misdiagnose a patient by dismissing their accurate perception of real events as delusional.
4. Several studies have shown that heterosexual men behave differently around women, often in surprising ways. They are more prone to engaging in risky behaviors such as jaywalking, rushing onto a bus at the last moment, and volunteering or donating more. These effects are most pronounced in young, single men.
5. The Batman Effect refers to the psychological benefit of adopting an alter ego. This extreme form of self-distancing allows people to step back from their emotions, helping them manage anxiety, stick to an exercise routine, and maintain a healthy diet.
6 Taking Photos Hurts Memory
The Photo-Taking Impairment Effect occurs when taking photos replaces truly experiencing a moment. Because the brain outsources memory to the camera, people retain fewer details than they would if they had simply observed the scene.
7. The Pratfall Effect explains how competence influences likability after making mistakes. Highly competent individuals become more likable when they commit errors, while average-seeming people become less likable for the same mistakes.
8. The Benjamin Franklin Effect reveals that people tend to like someone more after doing them a favor. Franklin tested this by borrowing a rare book from a rival and returning it with a note of thanks. Afterward, his rival treated him with great civility and even offered further help, leading to a lasting friendship.
9. DARVO (Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim, and Offender) describes a common reaction pattern used by abusers when confronted. First theorized by Jennifer Freyd in 1997, DARVO is considered a frequently used and highly effective defense mechanism.
10. The Gruen Effect occurs when a store’s design overwhelms customers, making them more susceptible to impulse purchases. Named after architect Victor Gruen, this psychological trick manipulates shoppers, despite Gruen himself disapproving of its use.
11 Forgetting After Walking Through Doors
The Doorway Effect is a known psychological event where a person’s short-term memory declines after passing through a doorway. Moving from one location to another disrupts memory retrieval in a way that remaining in the same place does not.
12. The Barnum Effect explains why people believe generalized personality descriptions apply uniquely to them. This phenomenon, common in astrology and personality tests, occurs when vague statements feel personally tailored despite being broad enough to fit many individuals.
13. A study found that strict parenting can make children more effective liars. Kids who fear telling the truth develop stronger deceptive behaviors to avoid punishment and getting into trouble.
14. The Bystander Effect describes how individuals are less likely to help a victim when others are present. The larger the crowd, the lower the chances that any single person will come forward to help.
15. The Spotlight Effect makes people believe others notice their mistakes more than they actually do. Because individuals focus on their own flaws, they assume others do too-when in reality, most people are too preoccupied with their own concerns to remember others’ missteps.
16 Words Lose Meaning When Repeated
Semantic satiation refers to the psychological effect where repeating a word causes it to lose its meaning temporarily.
17. The IKEA Effect reveals that consumers overvalue products they help create. A 2011 study found that people were willing to pay 63% more for furniture they assembled themselves compared to pre-assembled items.
18. The Zeigarnik Effect shows that students who take breaks during study sessions remember material better than those who study without interruptions. Engaging in unrelated activities, such as playing games or switching subjects, enhances retention.
19. The Hawthorne Effect describes how people change their behavior when they know they are being observed. This phenomenon can lead to misleading results in psychological and behavioral research, making initial interventions seem more effective than they truly are.
20. The “Women Are Wonderful” Effect suggests that people tend to associate more positive attributes with women than with men. Psychological and sociological research has consistently observed this bias.
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
21 Why Sizzling Fajitas Sell More
The Fajita Effect occurs when the arrival of the first sizzling fajita order at a restaurant triggers a chain reaction of additional orders. At Chili’s, for example, cooks anticipate this pattern and begin prepping more fajitas as soon as the first one is served. The sight, sound, and aroma influence diners’ choices.
22. The Chameleon Effect describes how people subconsciously mimic others’ behaviors, including accents, facial expressions, and vocal inflections. Studies suggest that individuals with a strong ability to distinguish musical notes are more susceptible to this effect. These individuals also tend to appear more empathetic and likable.
23. The Cheerleader Effect suggests that people look more attractive when seen in a group. Scientific studies have confirmed this theory, showing that faces appear more appealing when surrounded by others.
24. Watching and discussing five relationship-themed movies over a month reduced newlywed couples’ three-year divorce or separation rate from 24% to 11%. This method proved as effective as a 20-hour therapist-led early marriage counseling program.
25. The Dunning-Kruger Effect describes how incompetent individuals often fail to recognize their own incompetence. Because they lack the skills to evaluate their abilities accurately, they tend to overestimate their competence.
RE: Fact #7 (How Mistakes Affect Likability) – Basically, really smart people seem more down-to-earth once people see they’re not perfect. But if someone average messes up, it’s just another example of their usual incompetence.
RE: Fact #13 (Strict Parents Make Better Liars) – Dysfunctional families? We’re the storytelling champs.
Growing up in a family that doesn’t value honesty doesn’t exactly encourage truthfulness down the road.
It makes things worse by teaching kids they can only trust themselves, which makes lying seem okay.
RE: Fact #6 (Taking Photos Hurts Memory) – Extended mind theory talks a lot about this. Your brain doesn’t really see a difference between getting info from inside itself or from somewhere else, like the internet. So things like the internet, photos, and notes aren’t just tools—they’re actually part of how we think.
RE: Fact #42 (Masking Insecurity with Superiority) – Yeah, I get it. The pressure to always feel on top is too much, so you just tell yourself you’re better than everyone else.
RE: Fact #9 (Abuser’s Defensive Reaction Pattern) – Abusers often deny everything, then blame their victims. They try to make themselves look like the real victims.
For instance, imagine someone gets caught lying about a popular game developer. Instead of admitting it, they’d probably keep attacking the developer and claim *they’re* the ones being wronged.
No, it didn’t. Even if it did, it wasn’t a big deal. And even if it was, it’s not my problem. I didn’t mean to, anyway. Besides, you had it coming.
RE: Fact #10 (Store Design Manipulates Shoppers) – By the time I’m halfway through IKEA, I’m too wiped out to even talk about paint colors or which sofa to get with my wife. I just start chucking stuff into the cart.
I go in with a shopping list, but always walk out with nothing – it’s just too overwhelming.
RE: Fact #50 (Distorted Reflections in Dim Light) – It’s all down to how your brain works: after a while, looking at the same thing gets dull, so your brain starts making stuff up or playing up details. Low light makes it even worse, because it’s harder to see properly, giving your imagination free rein. Some people even think it’s connected to something called the “Troxler effect”—where things at the edge of your vision seem to disappear or change if you focus on one spot.
This trick of the eye has been part of spooky stories and legends for ages. Think about all those tales of calling up ghosts by staring in a mirror – ever heard of Bloody Mary?
RE: Fact #40 (Tap-to-Pay Increases Spending) – A credit card that gives you a little jolt each time you use it would be pretty cool.
It’s a debit card, and it’s also your brain.
Cash is way more effective—you actually see the money disappearing.
RE: Fact #44 (Ignoring Negative Emotions Harms You) – I’m seeing tons of toxic positivity online, a lot of it just plain unrealistic and wrong. People are saying stuff like, “If you can’t say something nice, you’re blocked!” Problem is, they only hear from people who agree with them, which isn’t good for getting different viewpoints and can make things really divisive.
“Good vibes only” is a phrase that pops into my head.
Friendly disagreements and helpful critiques? Those are good things.
RE: Fact #27 (Urge to Complete Unfinished Tasks) – Turns out, some folks just don’t get what it’s like to have ADHD.
Nope, I don’t have that.
That “innate human urge” thing was funny, then I hit a wall. Seriously, my brain just shut down. I still have a ton to do, but an urge? That’s totally different.
RE: Fact #31 (Sunlight’s Impact on Mental Health) – Summer’s crazy heat and sunshine totally bum me out. I’m much happier with cloudy, rainy weather.
Totally get that! Bright, empty blue skies on sunny days? It’s like a weird kind of claustrophobia, and it just drags me down all day. The worst is, I frame houses in Texas, so that’s pretty much my whole world. Rainy days are way better—even just clouds make a huge difference. I feel way more energized then.
I think what you’re thinking of is agoraphobia; that’s the fear of big, open spaces.
RE: Fact #34 (Perceived ‘Healthy’ Leads to Overindulgence) – Back when airbags became standard, people wore seatbelts less often in places where it wasn’t required.
Nowadays, US airbags are stronger and faster than Canadian ones because Americans buckle up way less often.
It was the same deal with anti-lock brakes; a lot of folks started driving riskier.
RE: Fact #25 (Incompetence Breeds Overconfidence) – Most people think they’re smart but overlooked, no surprise there.
I’m clueless. If I was dumb, I wouldn’t know it, and nobody could tell me otherwise.
RE: Fact #12 (Barnum Effect) – Fake psychics use this trick in their readings.
RE: Fact #1 (Selective Attention in Noisy Rooms) – So what do you call it when this goes wrong? Lots of people are having this problem.
I have APD, which makes it really hard to focus when there’s more than one person talking near me. It’s tough to concentrate on anything with lots of noise around.
Yeah, I get that. It’s a real pain trying to hear people in noisy places – everyone else seems fine, but I really struggle. And forget about understanding song lyrics unless the singer’s voice is super loud and clear.
RE: Fact #31 (Sunlight’s Impact on Mental Health) – Calgary winters: sunny and cold, but totally doable.
Hey, me too! Calgary winters totally bum me out. It’s that whole SAD thing, right? Seriously though, eight months of needing a full Everest expedition just to step outside for a walk? Walking in the snow is a workout, and driving’s a nightmare. Feels like you’re stuck inside a lot. Going for a stroll? Forget it unless you’re super prepared, otherwise you’ll freeze your butt off.
RE: Fact #36 (Psychological Damage of Isolation) – I did three years in solitary in Texas, 2008 to 2011. Those three years were the absolute worst, making the other two feel like a walk in the park. It was brutal.
Guys would come in seeming pretty normal, as normal as you get in max security. A few months later, they’d be totally nuts, yelling their heads off, throwing stuff, flooding their cells, starting fires.
It was even worse when they just… checked out. They’d stop showering, stop going to rec, stop eating. No more yelling, no talking. Just lost in their own world, not even getting out of bed.
When I finally got out, I was months behind schedule. I thought I still had six months left; I’d completely lost track of time.
RE: Fact #6 (Taking Photos Hurts Memory) – That’s really cool! Thanks.
It made me think of that Poe quote, “If you wish to forget anything on the spot, make note that this thing is to be remembered.” It’s not exactly photos, but it’s kind of like “offloading” information, isn’t it?
Isn’t it weird that we have to pretend we remember something to actually forget it?
RE: Fact #7 (How Mistakes Affect Likability) – Without reading it, I’m guessing the article makes the awesome people seem more relatable, but normal people just look kinda annoying because they messed up again.
RE: Fact #28 (Logical Shopping Declines Over Time) – Phew, glad I’m not alone! An hour of shopping and my brain’s fried. Back when I was younger, I could browse bookstores for hours and love it. Makes you wonder, huh?
I think I used my gut more and was more open-minded then, so maybe it’s the constant rejecting of stuff that’s tiring, not the shopping itself. It’s like self-expression, you know?
So, yeah, any kind of intense thinking probably does that to you. Time to rethink how I write, I guess.
RE: Fact #31 (Sunlight’s Impact on Mental Health) – Talk to anyone with SAD about this. Or anyone, like me, who got happier after moving somewhere sunny, like Southern California—sunshine practically every day there!
RE: Fact #21 (Why Sizzling Fajitas Sell More) – Usually, it’s not the smell that makes me order fajitas. It’s that they’re always hot and delicious when they arrive.
RE: Fact #1 (Selective Attention in Noisy Rooms) – It’s a real pain when you can’t manage this stuff. Lots of us with ADHD have the same problem, or just can’t do it at all. It’s super draining and makes you feel wiped out.
It doesn’t even take much to trigger it. Even at a quiet lunch with a friend, I could hear and understand three other conversations – one on my right, one on my left, and one behind my friend.
Sometimes it gets so bad I can’t make out what anyone is saying. I even had to bail on a friend’s birthday dinner recently because it was too much – a busy, noisy bar and grill with our group of ten, and me right in the middle.
ADHD is tough to explain to people who don’t have it. They think you can just focus more, but you actually can’t. It’s like our brains don’t have stop signs.
RE: Fact #4 (Men’s Behavior Around Women) – Guys do dumb stuff to impress girls. What’s new.
It’s like there’s some built-in biological thing making them do this. Too bad other animals don’t act so strange around potential mates. Another mystery!
People are strange. Most other male animals just chill while they’re looking for a partner.
RE: Fact #24 (Movies Lower Divorce Rates) – So, couples who talk things out a lot seem to split up less often. Huh.
Turns out, couples in a study who agreed to participate had fewer divorces.
Turns out, hard work pays off. Who knew?
RE: Fact #2 (Renewed Interest in New Partners) – So, the name’s origin? It’s from a funny old story about Calvin Coolidge. Apparently, he and his wife were separately touring a farm, and his wife saw a very busy rooster. She asked how often it happened, and was told, “Tons of times a day!” She said to tell the President. When the President heard, he asked if it was the same hen each time. The answer? Nope, a different one every time. The President’s response? “Tell that to Mrs. Coolidge.”
RE: Fact #36 (Psychological Damage of Isolation) – The Canadian Medical Association Journal slammed solitary confinement as cruel and unusual punishment. A deputy editor, Dr. Diane Kelsall, pointed out that isolation messes with prisoners’ heads, making them confused, paranoid, and even psychotic. It can also worsen existing health problems and cause physical issues like sleeplessness, heart palpitations, and loss of appetite. Basically, the lack of social contact and stimulation drives people crazy, leading to depression, anger, and a higher risk of suicide. They say solitary should only be used as a last resort, for the shortest time possible, only if it’s absolutely necessary for safety.
Staying cooped up even for a day makes me feel awful. Do they offer any kind of treatment or meds to keep prisoners mentally engaged while they’re in solitary?
That study said solitary should only be used in emergencies, and only for a short time, to keep people safe. But that’s not really why prisons use it. It’s mostly about punishment, and the bad mental effects of isolation? They see that as a bonus, not a problem.
RE: Fact #21 (Why Sizzling Fajitas Sell More) – It’s an advertisement.
It’s the fajita effect: you see all those awesome sizzling fajitas online at factrepublic, and suddenly you really crave Chili’s.
Try it with our Jose Cuervo Chili Lime sauce.
Slick advertising, huh? I bet most people on factrepublic don’t even realize it’s an ad.
RE: Fact #11 (Forgetting After Walking Through Doors) – It’s all about how our memory works, you see. We remember stuff based on where we are. Change rooms, change where you are, and poof – those thoughts vanish.
RE: Fact #43 (Parents Do Have Favorites) – Anyone who’s got brothers and sisters gets that. My mom seemed to play favorites with the boys, but she totally adored our oldest brother.
If your parents didn’t play favorites, it was probably you they favored.
I’m the golden middle child, apparently. My older brother’s the favorite oldest, and the youngest gets the same treatment.
Yeah, right, Mom.
And she remembers when I was born? By figuring out what year her favorite Jeep was made, then subtracting a year, since the Jeep was older than me. Like remembering my birth year is easy, right?
RE: Fact #8 (Benjamin Franklin Effect ) – Machiavelli even said it in *The Prince*: get someone to owe you one, and they’ll be more loyal.
MLM folks often ask doubters and potential customers to help out with a sales party.
Those annoying middle managers
RE: Fact #2 (Renewed Interest in New Partners) – Jennifer Coolidge? Totally! She was a knockout back then.
Stifler’s mom
RE: Fact #23 (Looking Better in Groups) – That grad student was pretty smart, going to their advisor and saying they wanted to research how attractive groups of women are.
RE: Fact #30 (Earned Wealth Boosts Happiness) – Been broke, been loaded. Loaded’s way better!
If being poor was so great, wouldn’t rich folks be lining up to give it all away?
RE: Fact #4 (Men’s Behavior Around Women) – Risking it all for a hookup.
It worked for George McFly.
This isn’t news, we’ve got a name for it: peacocking. Like, you know how peacocks show off? It’s the same thing. Ever been to the YMCA and watched the basketball games? The second a woman walks in, everyone’s suddenly Kobe, LeBron, and Jordan all rolled into one. They’re all over the defense, trying to dunk, just to impress the ladies.
RE: Fact #33 (Sudden Clarity Before Death) – Being a nurse who’s looked after people at the end of their lives, I’ve seen this happen loads of times. Families often see it as a bit of a break, or even something good, when their loved one gets a couple of really nice days before the end.
As an EMT, I’d seen that a couple times in the quick version. Lots of “dying, dying, dying,” then some rambling, then beep. It was weird. Not exactly the same thing, but the outcome’s basically the same.
Years in critical care have taught me that the people who are truly terrified, begging not to die, are the ones that haunt my dreams. Heart attacks, trauma…it’s always the same when they say that.
A family pulled the plug on a patient after a couple of clear conversations before the end. It was brutal watching them, and trying to explain that their hoped-for miracle wasn’t happening, and death was still coming.
RE: Fact #41 (Buying One Thing Leads to More) – Hey, welcome to Guitar Center! Need any help?
So, quarantine, right? March rolls around, and I’m like, “Time for that fancy distortion pedal!” By September, I was building my own cables.
RE: Fact #11 (Forgetting After Walking Through Doors) – It’s a real thing, happens to me all the time. I’m in IT, super busy. Someone asks for help, then *bam*, five more people hit me with requests. By the time I’m done with the first one, poof, the rest are gone from my memory. So I figured out a solution: Just email me instead of telling me in person.
RE: Fact #5 (Power of an Alter Ego) – I’ve decided to become a voice actor and start my own business. Once I got serious, I just declared myself one. Now, when people ask, I say I’m a voice actor – not *aspiring* – a real voice actor! Imposter syndrome almost wrecked me financially, but calling myself that has really helped shut those doubts up.
Kevin Smith talks about this in his book. He used to think you needed school and all that official stuff to be a filmmaker, but his sister Virginia told him, “If you wanna be a filmmaker, just make a film – that’s all it takes!” I try to do that myself.
Being a civil engineer isn’t as simple as just building a bridge, though.
RE: Fact #44 (Ignoring Negative Emotions Harms You) – Seriously, it bugs me as a psychologist. We need all our emotions – anger helps us fight off danger, sadness helps us learn and remember. There’s a big difference between “bad” feelings and feelings that are just tough.
Only focusing on the “good” stuff is dumb and makes people feel bad about themselves. No one wants to be told their feelings are wrong. We all just want someone to listen and accept us, no matter what we’re feeling.
RE: Fact #38 (Hunger Affects Judicial Decisions) – Someone pointed out before that courts often handle simple cases first thing in the morning or right after lunch. It’s so defendants and lawyers don’t have to wait around for a big complicated case to wrap up. They get the quick, easy ones done, then tackle the tougher stuff. So this guy thought maybe the effect wasn’t so strong – maybe courts just schedule the easy cases for the first part of the day, saving the cases with bigger consequences for later.
I haven’t seen the study myself, so I’m just guessing, but I’d bet the researchers accounted for that factor—it seems pretty clear they would have. And if they didn’t, someone else could probably easily publish a paper pointing out their mistake.
RE: Fact #34 (Perceived ‘Healthy’ Leads to Overindulgence) – People who use energy-saving bulbs keep them on longer, but they still save a bunch—between 68% and 75% of their energy. Plus, you get brighter light. Sounds like a win-win!
RE: Fact #3 (Martha Mitchell Effect ) – Back when I was a cop, this lady kept calling every week, saying someone was breaking into her place. Nothing was ever missing, no signs of a break-in, nothing looked messed up. But she was totally convinced someone was there.
This went on for months – sometimes she’d call two or three times a week! We even had a note on her file about possible mental health issues.
I don’t know exactly how it came out, maybe the kid bragged or got arrested for something else, but eventually we found out one of her high school students had snagged her key, made a copy, and was going into her house just to mess with stuff.
He got nailed for every single incident we could prove, a bunch of felony charges for breaking and entering to terrorize. I think it was over 30 counts.
RE: Fact #13 (Strict Parents Make Better Liars) – Seriously, my parents were super strict. I got really good at lying and manipulating people—even when I didn’t need to. I lost a bunch of friends growing up, and it took a ton of work to stop lying and be honest.
Yeah, I agree. My parents never really explained anything – it was totally “do as I say, not as I do.” Right and wrong were just fuzzy ideas; all that mattered was obeying. So we got really good at pretending to be good, even though we were actually lying and manipulating people.
My dad always said, “Just do it!”
We’re crushing cans to pay for family vacations.
We’re doing yard work because Dad was swamped working and couldn’t keep up with the yard he loved.
I gotta go see some relatives who are in town; they really want to see me.
If someone had just explained things, I probably wouldn’t have hated it so much.
I always seem to blurt out the wrong answer to easy questions like, “Did you handle X?” Then I have to correct myself: “Nope, sorry, that’s wrong. I don’t know why I said that.”
It’s not really about trying to deceive anyone; I just say whatever seems least likely to tick them off.
Even though I wasn’t physically abused, seeing these odd behaviors made me realize some things about my childhood weren’t right.
Totally. I often tell people what they want to hear instead of the truth, even about little stuff that doesn’t really matter. I’m working on it, but it’s a tough habit to kick.
I totally get that. My first thought is usually to fib or just avoid the whole thing, because I don’t want to deal with the fallout from explaining.
I did something similar when I was younger. Made a lot of enemies.
It took me a while to figure out I was being a real jerk. Thankfully, I met my wife, she saw the good in me and helped me become a better person. Life’s way better now that I’m honest and loving.
RE: Fact #33 (Sudden Clarity Before Death) – I’ve seen this tons of times working hospice in nursing homes. It looked like every cell in their bodies was going all-out one last time before they died. I can’t explain it any other way. After a while, you get a feel for it. The worst part was seeing families get their hopes up for a miracle recovery, only to be crushed. Most of the time, the person slipped into a coma-like state and then passed.
RE: Fact #45 (More Deaths, Less Empathy) – I’ve lost five close friends and family members, and almost a brother, to overdoses over the past fifteen years. It started when I was sixteen, and by the end, I felt nothing. It’s seriously a real problem.
I get it. Three years? Two friends killed themselves, one was murdered, and two others died super fast from aggressive cancer. It’s been rough.
RE: Fact #6 (Taking Photos Hurts Memory) – Our old dog’s getting up there, and this morning we were reminiscing about her. Funny how we all mostly remembered things from our photo albums. Getting older makes you realize memories are pretty unreliable. Take lots of pictures, especially with the people you love. Otherwise, things just fade away.
Man, I was all about “living in the moment” in my twenties, and now my memory’s shot. Take pictures, everyone! It’s like building up a sweet nostalgia stash for later.
Seriously, when I got my first kid, I took a crazy amount of pictures! I had to weed through them all just to find anything else. It was such a mess.
A couple pictures at a holiday is perfect. A short video is nice sometimes, too.
But a video of the whole thing, or 600 photos? That’s just overkill. It’s not helpful at all.
RE: Fact #44 (Ignoring Negative Emotions Harms You) – I’ve been in tech forever, and it’s wild how meetings and planning go. Planning for problems? Apparently, that’s negative thinking, bad vibes, and all that. They’ll talk about your “drive to win” and stuff.
So I usually have to lay it all out: why backups are a must, with the price tag and who’ll be out of a job, sued, or subpoenaed if things go south.
And when things *do* go south? It’s nuts how they never say thanks. They just act like their positive attitude saved the day.
RE: Fact #50 (Distorted Reflections in Dim Light) – Staring in a mirror for a while, any kind of light, can get pretty strange and creepy sometimes.
RE: Fact #12 (Barnum Effect) – Derren Brown did a show where he busted some psychics. He gave everyone the same personality test, and everyone thought it was super accurate and described them perfectly! Then he showed them they all got the same one.
RE: Fact #10 (Store Design Manipulates Shoppers) – That KFC menu? Seriously, I’d rather face a room full of cobras than try to figure it out with a bunch of people waiting.
Seriously, it’s wild. When I’m at a place with one of those menus, I always step aside so others can get through while I check it out.
RE: Fact #26 (Clothing Affects Mental Performance) – Has anyone else tried to repeat this study? A lot of social psychology research is failing to reproduce results lately—lots of those neat findings disappear when other scientists try to repeat the experiments.
Yeah, a few studies tried to copy this one, but the effect was too tiny to count as real successes. Still, other research showed the same basic idea—enclothed cognition.
Yeah, a few other studies tried to copy that one, but the effect wasn’t big enough to call them successful. That happens a lot, actually. I taught psych students for four years, and had to double-check my examples every year because studies failing to reproduce is super common. Think about the one saying meat-eaters are selfish, or the one about messy desks and worse performance – those are just a couple of examples. And then there’s the whole Diederik Stapel thing, which is a whole other story.
RE: Fact #34 (Perceived ‘Healthy’ Leads to Overindulgence) – My family went through a ton of those awful cookies. I’m totally over that sugary, white flour taste now.
RE: Fact #43 (Parents Do Have Favorites) – I can’t remember which comedian said it, but it’s so true: Parents love all their kids equally, but let’s be honest, there’s always a favorite.
RE: Fact #26 (Clothing Affects Mental Performance) – Clothes and accessories have stats.
Magic spells, basically.
Surgeon scrubs make you feel like a surgeon, ready to dissect.
RE: Fact #43 (Parents Do Have Favorites) – It’s rough being the only kid and not the favorite.
RE: Fact #45 (More Deaths, Less Empathy) – If something bad happens once, it sucks. But if it happens five times a day for years, it just becomes… normal. It’s like the opposite of “if every day is beautiful, what’s a beautiful day?”
RE: Fact #32 (Why Shapes Have Sound Associations) – Turns out, a study showed that animal handlers, no matter what language they speak or animal they’re working with, use short, sharp noises to tell an animal to go, and long, drawn-out noises to tell it to slow down. Pretty neat how some communication stuff is the same everywhere, huh?
So, does that mean we’re born with a built-in, universal human language? Like, we naturally express emotions through laughing and crying, stuff like that?
My buddy nailed it. There’s no single definition of beauty, but we all get what beauty *is*, even if we see it differently.
It’s wild how some things are just built into us. There’s no single language everyone speaks, but we’re born with certain things wired in, like the diving reflex or how babies recognize faces. Maybe some of our long-term habits are genetic, too. It’s tricky to say for sure whether language is genetic or learned, since we’ve had it for so long. Kids who grow up without people around often never learn to talk properly, depending on how isolated they are.
RE: Fact #24 (Movies Lower Divorce Rates) – Here’s a list of movies and the stars in them: A Star Is Born (Judy Garland and James Mason), Adam’s Rib (Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn), Anna Karenina (Keira Knightley and Jude Law), As Good as it Gets (Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt), Barefoot in the Park (Robert Redford and Jane Fonda), Children of a Lesser God (William Hurt and Marlee Matlin), Days of Wine and Roses (Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick), Desk Set (Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn), Dying Young (Julia Roberts and Campbell Scott), Fools Rush In (Matthew Perry and Salma Hayek), Forget Paris (Billy Crystal and Debra Winger), French Twist (Patrick Aubrée and Josiane Balasko), Funny Girl (Barbra Streisand and Omar Sharif), Gone With the Wind (Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (Spencer Tracy and Sidney Poitier), Hanover Street (Harrison Ford and Lesley-Anne Down), Husbands and Wives (Woody Allen and Mia Farrow), Indecent Proposal (Robert Redford and Demi Moore), Jungle Fever (Wesley Snipes and Anna Sciorra), Love Jones (Larenz Tate and Nia Long), Love Story (Ali MacGraw and Ryan O’Neal), Made for Each Other (Carole Lombard and James Stewart), Mississippi Masala (Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury), Move Over, Darling (Doris Day and James Garner), Mr. Blandings Builds his Dreamhouse (Cary Grant and Myrna Loy), My Favorite Wife (Irene Dunne and Cary Grant), Nina Takes a Lover (Laura San Giacomo and Paul Rhys), Nine Months (Hugh Grant and Julianne Moore), On Golden Pond (Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda), Pat and Mike (Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn), Penny Serenade (Cary Grant and Irene Dunne), Phffft (Judy Holliday and Jack Lemmon), Red Firecracker, Green Firecracker (Jing Ning and Gang Wu), She’s Having a Baby (Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth McGovern), Steel Magnolias (Shirley MacLaine and Olympia Dukakis), Terms of Endearment (Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger), The Devil’s Advocate (Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino), The Egg and I (Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray), The Male Animal (Henry Fonda and Olivia de Havilland), The Out of Towners (Steve Martin and Goldie Hawn), The Thin Man (William Powell and Myrna Loy), The Way We Were (Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford), Untamed Heart (Christian Slater and Marisa Tomei), When a Man Loves a Woman (Meg Ryan and Andy Garcia), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton), With Six You Get Eggroll (Doris Day and Brian Keith), Yours, Mine and Ours (Dennis Quaid and Renne Russo)
I haven’t thought about Devil’s Advocate in ages! But if I remember correctly, Keanu works for Pacino (who’s Satan), and there’s something about Pacino getting his wife pregnant…
His wife gets crazier the more successful he gets as a lawyer. He’s too busy to spend time with her, which makes her even crazier.
Hey, wait a minute—no Terminator 2?
No Deadpool? Seriously?
RE: Fact #32 (Why Shapes Have Sound Associations) – I think of Zapdos when I see the left one.
RE: Fact #22 (Unconscious Social Behavior Mimicry) – Man, it bugs me. I can’t seem to stop copying how people talk.
Last year, I was at a dinner party next to this Aussie, and I spent half the evening feeling awful because my accent kept changing to match his! I knew I was doing it, but couldn’t help myself. Poor guy.
I tried something similar, but copied a Black girl’s accent, and I felt terrible about possibly mocking her—she’s one of the coolest people I’ve ever met. Super awkward.
RE: Fact #25 (Incompetence Breeds Overconfidence) – When you’re dead, you don’t know it – it’s only tough on everyone else. Same goes for being clueless.
Even dumb people have a rough time sometimes.
I haven’t really noticed smart people or dumb people facing way more problems than the other, just different kinds of problems.
Even really smart people can have really tough lives. The super-smart ones often see the scary stuff in the world that other people just don’t notice.
RE: Fact #30 (Earned Wealth Boosts Happiness) – So, money buys happiness, right? It gives you choices, which gives you space to breathe. Breathing room means you’re in control, and that can make you pretty happy… maybe.
Money’s just a means to an end.
Having money doesn’t automatically mean you’re happy, but it sure helps you do things that will make you happy.
So it makes you happy, then?
RE: Fact #3 (Martha Mitchell Effect ) – The Gustl Mollath case is a pretty wild story in Germany. They sent him to a super secure mental hospital, saying he was nuts and a danger. But, get this—some of the crazy stuff he was saying about a big bank doing money laundering turned out to be true! He’d been saying they were trying to shut him up because of what he knew, and years later, it looked like he was right.
He was a weird dude, so people just didn’t believe him. That pisses me off, because it’ll be me someday. Regular folks can be awful.
Into thrillers and horror flicks? Unsane totally freaked me out—it felt way too realistic.
No surprise there.
My mom and I got terrible treatment from social services and the courts—mostly because of her depression, I think.
Once they’ve made up their minds, nothing gets through.
And everyone knows about these problems. The government tried to look into it, but the whole system just stonewalled them.
Wow, Camus’s *The Stranger* is intense. Seriously creepy.
RE: Fact #45 (More Deaths, Less Empathy) – Stalin supposedly said that one death from hunger is a tragedy, but millions is just a number.
I always figured Stalin was talking about nukes when he said that. Just my take, though.
Pol Pot murdered 1.7 million people. It’s crazy, right? One murder’s bad, ten is worse, but 100,000? It’s almost like, “Wow, that’s impressive dedication!” I mean, I can barely make it to the gym.
Megadeth said it best: one murder, you’re a murderer; kill a bunch, you’re a conqueror; kill everyone, and you’re a god.
RE: Fact #29 (Astronauts’ Cognitive Shift in Space) –
My absolute fave space quote ever.
Also this one