30 psychological curiosities that will shock you

Our psyche holds little-known secrets. Would you like to know them?

There are many curiosities about the way our brain and psyche work that most people do not yet know, and they would probably be surprised.

The mechanisms that regulate our cognition are complex and give rise to many differences between individuals.

Psychological curiosities you probably did not know about

Here you can find a series of surprising psychological curiosities.

1. Whenever we sleep, we dream

It is true that we are not always able to remember the dreams we have had, but several scientific researches have revealed that brain activity during sleep generates that we dream when we reach the REM phase during rest.

Studies show that we do not remember 90% of the content of our dreams. and that even if we were to remember them, half of this content would be forgotten within five minutes of waking up, as the brain picks up new stimuli and tends to let go of this information. If you want to remember more and better your dreams, it is very useful to write down all your dreams as detailed as possible in a notebook that you have on your bedside table, every day when you wake up.

• If you want to know more about the world of dreams: "10 curiosities about dreams, revealed by science".

2. How much does the brain weigh?

Men's brains are slightly heavier than women's brains. The average figure for males is 1,400 grams, while the female brain weighs 1,250 grams..

This does not mean that men are more intelligent than women, as we saw in the article "Are women or men more intelligent? Although it is true that, long ago, the first scientists who measured the weight of the brains mistakenly concluded that men must have greater intellectual gifts. The difference in size is due to a principle of principle of proportionalitySince men are usually taller and heavier than women, the size of the brain adjusts to these body proportions, so the larger the body, the larger the brain.

3. We are programmed to flee from danger

When we face extreme situations of distress, fear or danger, our body activates innate mechanisms that allow us to flee from danger. innate mechanisms that allow us to flee to get away from danger.. In other words, we are designed to ensure our survival, and thus that of the human species.

In these extreme situations in which we are in imminent danger, the adrenal glands are drastically activated and generate adrenalinea hormone that increases increases the heart rate and constricts blood vessels, preparing the body for high-intensity physical exertion.preparing the body for high intensity physical exertion. It is for this reason that we are able to undertake almost superhuman actions when we are in a state of panic, as for example there has been the case of mothers who have managed to lift cars or very heavy objects to rescue a trapped child.

 

4. We grow while we sleep

When we sleep, our brain secretes most of the hormone in charge of the hormone in charge of muscle and bone growth. and bone growth. For this reason it is absolutely essential that children rest and sleep the necessary hours.

5. The "phantom limb".

Many similar cases have been reported: a person has a limb amputated, and subsequently begins to have the sensation that the limb is still there. begins to have the sensation that the limb is still in place.. In fact, many cases report having suffered pain in the amputated limbs. This phenomenon is known as the "phantom limb syndrome". We detailed it in the article "The phantom limb: mirror box therapy".

The reason why this happens has its origin in the brain. Apparently, the brain area in charge of regulating the mobility and touch of the limb is still active, and in the absence of real nerve stimuli, it tends to create them.

6. There are people incapable of recognizing faces

These cases of people who cannot recognize faces are caused by a disorder called prosopagnosia (from Greek prosoponmeaning "face" and agnosiawhich refers to "lack of awareness"), and this makes it impossible for them to recognize faces.

This impairment causes them to They are unable to recognize familiar faces, so they are incapable of recognizing those close to them. They must resort to observing some specific characteristics, such as gait, tone of voice, or some other distinctive feature except the face, in order to be aware of who is in front of them. In more severe cases, sufferers may not be able to recognize themselves in front of a mirror or by looking at themselves in a photograph.

7. An Antidepressant that causes uncontrollable orgasms

The essential chemical component of certain antidepressant drugs is clomipramine. This type of medication is not only used to remedy depression, but is also used in anxiety crises, phobias and other types of disorders.

Some of the people who are treated with this type of drugs usually report that, at the beginning of the treatment, they experience uncontrollable orgasms, they experience uncontrollable orgasms at the moment of yawning.. It was calculated that up to 5% of the patients noticed this strange effect, both men and women.

Although we could think of this as a positive side effect of the drug, the truth is that the people who suffered from it had problems and discomfort in their daily lives.

8. Amnesia does make it possible to remember

Although it is true that the idea is always conveyed that amnesia eliminates the past memories of the person who has suffered it after the trauma, in reality this type of amnesia, called "retrograde" amnesia, is very rare.

The most common type of amnesia is called anterograde amnesia. This is an amnesia in which amnesia in which the person is able to remember almost everything in the past normally, but cannot remember anything at all.However, he/she is not able to remember anything of what he/she is living, is not able to remember what happened yesterday, or is even unable to remember what he/she did ten minutes ago. This form of amnesia is the most common among people suffering from dementia.

9. The Halo effect permeates everything

One of the psychological phenomena that most influences social relationships is what is known as the Halo effect. is what is known as the Halo effect. This term describes a propensity to make global and positive assessments about individuals or legal entities, based on the fact of knowing one of their most outstanding characteristics.

For example, it has been observed that people who fit better with the canons of beauty tend to generate better impressions also in relation to the rest of their characteristics by those who know them little.

10. Memories always change

Another of the most interesting psychological curiosities has to do with memory. Although we often use the metaphor of archives full of documents to refer to the memories contained in our brains, the truth is that all our memories are constantly changing, no matter what we do. It is impossible for the contents of our memory to always remain the same..

11. The limit of working memory

For most people, the working memory functions without too many problems unless there are more than seven items to keep or manipulate in it.

12. Two types of intelligence

Intelligence can be divided into two main categories: fluid intelligence, based on mental agility, and crystallized intelligence, based on the ability to use memorized information.

13. The importance of context in drug addictions

Drug addictions do not arise only from the interaction of the brain with the substances consumed, but also from the context. Moving to a very different place and no longer having contact with former friends who also consumed drugs makes the addiction disappear in many cases.

14. We remember the first and last things better

When faced with a series of items to memorize (for example, the shopping list), we remember better the first and the last.

15. The third person effect

The psychological phenomenon known as the "third person effect" consists in the fact that, as a general rule, we tend to believe that we are less susceptible to the third person effect, we tend to believe that we are less likely to believe false information than most people, and that those with whom we are in contact are more likely to believe false information.and that those with whom we have regular contact and whom we appreciate are also less credulous than the average citizen.

16. The face perception system

The human mind is especially good at recognizing small details in faces through the sense of vision; we are not as sensitive to the nuances of the other parts of the body that we see.

17. The nocebo effect

People who believe they should be being treated and are not receiving that health care are more likely to develop health problems. This is known as the nocebo effect.

18. The relationship between sleep and memory

Every time we sleep, we contribute to the consolidation of information gathered during the day in our memory.

19. Differences in theory of mind between men and women

Theory of mind is the ability to infer emotional and cognitive states in other people, without confusing what they believe, what they do not believe, what they do not believe and what they do not believe.It is the ability to infer emotional and cognitive states in other people, without confusing what they believe, feel or think with what we believe, feel or think. It has been found that women, on average, tend to have these abilities more developed.

20. Fuzzy ideologies

Although many people have strong preferences as to which political parties are good and which are bad, in reality only a small minority have consistent and stable ideologies over time.

21. Binge eating without hunger

Many people eat without realizing that they are not hungry, simply to relieve their discomfort.

22. The limit of 150 in groups

Groups of more than 150 people (approximately) need a series of rules and clearly assigned roles that allow the creation of sub-groups in order to function well and not generate conflicts. This is what is known as Dunbar's number.

23. Anxiety and the immune system

It has been proven that staying in an anxious state for long periods of time weakens the immune system as long as this state of anxiety or stress is maintained.

24. Pupils and attractiveness

When we look at something or someone we find attractive, our pupils dilate more.

25. Lack of sleep leads to self-deception.

People who sleep little have a much lower capacity to concentrate and reason than other people (due to the fact that they sleep little), but not only that, they also have a tendency to self-deception. (due to the fact that they sleep little) but not only that, they also have a tendency not to realize it.

26. The blind spots of vision

The human eye is made in such a way that in our visual field there is a point in which we do not capture visual stimuli, since in that place the retina merges with the optic nerve. However, we are not aware of this, because our brain "invents" this information.

27. The ability to create images in the mind has cerebral foundations.

The degree to which we are able to create images in our imagination depends on the level of random neuronal activity in a part of the brain known as the visual cortex.

28. Friends matter more than parents

Although the family has a great influence on the development of children, even more influential are the groups of friends of their age.

29. The Forer effect

Human beings are predisposed to identify with ambiguous descriptions of people; we quickly assume that we fit what is being explained.

30. Opposites do not attract

Couples formed by people with very different interests or personalities tend to go through more trouble than those formed by similar people.

Bibliographical references:

• Balaban C.D., Thayer J.F. (2001). Neurological bases for balance-anxiety links. J Anxiety Disord. 15 (1-2): pp. 53 - 79.
• Gross, R. (2010). Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behaviour. London: Hachette UK.
• Mestre, T.A.. (2020) Nocebo and lessebo effects. International Review of Neurobiology 153, pp. 121 - 146.
• Papalia, D. and Wendkos, S. (1992). Psicología. México: McGraw-Hill.
• Ramachandran, V. & Zeve, M. (2017). Synesthesia and McCollough Effect. i-Perception, 8(3), pp. 201 - 211.
• Roeckelein, J.E. (2006). Elsevier's Dictionary of Psychological Theories. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science & Technology.
• Sherman, R.A.; Sherman, C.J. & Parker, L. (1984). Chronic phantom and stump pain among American veterans: results of a survey. Pain, pp. 83 - 95.
• Tavris, C., & Aronson, E. (2007). Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts. Orlando, FL: Harcourt.