Good facts about human psychology That will blow your mind

Psychology is the scientific study of human mind and behaviour. Psychology includes the study of concious and unconscious phenomenon of human mind as well as feelings and thoughts. Psychologists explore behaviour and mental processes including attention, emotions, intelligence, experiences, brain functioning and personality of humans. So let's see some good and interesting facts about human psychology.

Food tastes better when someone else makes it.

Ever wonder why that sandwich from the takeout place down the street tastes better than the ones you make at home, even if you use the same ingredients? One study published in the journal Science found that when you make yourself a meal, you're around it so long that it feels less exciting by the time you actually dig in—and that, subsequently, decreases your enjoyment.

We'd rather know something bad is coming than not know what to expect.

Researchers who published their work in the journal Nature have found that it's less stressful to know something negative is about to happen (e.g., there's no chance we'll get to a meeting on time) than when we don't know how things will work out (e.g., we might be on time after all). That's because the part of our brain that predicts consequences—whether good or bad—is most active when it doesn't know what to expect. If stepping on the gas will help us beat traffic, we'll go through that stress instead of just accepting that we'll have to come up with a decent excuse when (not if) we're late.

We always try to return a favor.

It's not just good manners—the "rule of reciprocity" suggests that we're programmed to want to help someone who's helped us. It probably developed because, to keep society working smoothly, people need to help each other out. Stores (and some frenemies) like to use this against you, offering freebies in hopes that you'll spend some cash.

When one rule seems too strict, we want to break more.

Psychologists have studied a phenomenon called reactance: When people perceive certain freedoms being taken away, they not only break that rule, but they break even more than they otherwise would have in an effort to regain their freedom. This could be one of the best psychology facts to explain why a teenager who can't use his phone in class will chew gum while stealthily sending a text.

Our favorite subject is ourselves.

Don't blame your self-absorbed brother for talking about himself—it's just the way his brain is wired. The reward centers of our brains light up more when we're talking about ourselves than when we're talking about other people, according to a Harvard study.

There's a reason we want to squeeze cute things.

"It's so cute, I just was to smoosh it until it pops!" That's called cuteness aggression, and people who feel it don't really want to crush that adorable puppy. Research published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience found that when we're feeling overwhelmed by positive emotions—like we do when looking at an impossibly cute baby animal—a little bit of aggression helps us balance out that high.

Our brains try to make boring speeches more interesting.

University of Glasgow researchers found that in the same way that we hear voices in our heads when we read aloud, our brains also "talk" over boring speeches. If someone is speaking monotonously, we'll subconsciously make it more vivid in our heads.

Some people enjoy seeing anger in others.

In one University of Michigan study, people with high testosterone remembered information better when it was paired with an angry face than a neutral one or no face, indicating they found the angry glare rewarding. The researchers said it could mean that certain people enjoy making someone else glare at them—as long the flash of anger doesn't last long enough to be a threat—which could be why that guy in the office won't let go of that stupid joke at your expense.

We automatically second-guess ourselves when other people disagree.

In a famous 1950s experiment, college students were asked to point out which of three lines was the same length as a fourth. When they heard others (who were in on the experiment) choose an answer that was clearly wrong, the participants followed their lead and gave that same wrong answer.

We aren't as good at multitasking as we think we are.

Research published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology shows that even when you think you're doing two things at once, what you're actually doing is switching quickly between the two tasks—you're still focusing on one at a time. No wonder it's so hard to listen to your partner while scrolling through Instagram.

We're convinced that the future is bright.

Doesn't matter if you like where you're at right now or not—most of us have an "optimism bias" that convinces us the future will be better than the present, according to research in Current Biology. We assume we'll rise up in our careers, never get divorced, raise little angels of children, and live to a ripe old age. Those might not all be realistic for everyone, but there's no harm in dreaming.

We (unintentionally) believe what we want to believe.

Humans are victim to something called confirmation bias: the tendency to interpret facts in a way that confirms what we already believe. So no matter how many facts you throw at your uncle trying to sway his political opinions, there's a good chance he isn't going to budge. It's one of the psychology facts you'll just have to accept that you can't change.