How the Mind Really Works
Studying how the mind really works has been a great challenge for many scientists. But then, vast research has uncovered some of the wondrous facts about cognition and other mental processes.
Interesting Facts about how the Mind Works
The mind cannot tolerate two conflicting ideas. There are many psychological concepts which were believed to be true decades ago, that are now losing sense in modern science. One of the most interesting findings is that the human mind finds it hard to hold two contradictory beliefs together. When struggling with two opposing ideas, the mind unconsciously adjusts one to fit with the other. For example, in one ground-breaking study, participants found a boring task to be interesting if they were paid for doing it. The monetary idea suits them well that they unconsciously adjusted their perception of the task from being ‘boring’ to interesting.
Hallucination is part of being ‘healthy’. Scientific research also found that even the healthy individuals experience hallucination. In fact, 20 per cent of the ‘normal’ people hallucinate once a month, and 2 per cent once a week. Paranoia is a common phenomenon as well. This only shows that hallucinations and paranoia alone could not predict whether or not a person has mental illness.
Obedience makes people do bad things. Turns out, the human mind is also hardwired to remain obedient particularly to an authority. In a famous study, participants who were instructed to follow an authority figure continued giving electric shocks to the subject even though they could hear the victim screaming in agony and falling silent. This study shows that almost any human can do anything, even if that means hurting another, to follow the authority.
Humans make decisions for reasons they can’t find. Most people think that they make decisions based on reasons that they have established in their minds. But it turns out that in some instances, they make blind choices. Meaning, people have little awareness of the choices they make and why.
Fantasising about the future is a bad idea. Another shocking concept in psychology is this – people who fantasise tend to reduce their motivation. Many people inspire themselves by dreaming about the future – how exactly they want their life to be. But according to psychologists, getting a taste of the future reduces one’s drive to make it happen.
Brainstorming doesn’t always help. In many organisations, especially in schools, individuals are encouraged to brainstorm to come up with better ideas. But scientists say this process is rather ineffective. Instead of being able to form more creative ideas and intelligent solutions, people who discuss in groups are less likely to push their mind to think harder, while some are afraid that their ideas might be rejected, even knowing the fact that there’s no right or wrong idea.
Suppressing thoughts is a bad idea. The most common advice of people to friends or family members who are going through a difficult situation is to ‘just stop thinking about it’. But suppressing the mind to focus on such thought can do more harm than good. Research found that the more the mind pushes away a thought or idea, the more it often it bounces back, at a very strong degree.
Achievements are less likely to make you happy. Contrary to popular belief, achievements only affect our level of happiness temporarily. Getting hired to a new job for instance could make you experience ‘euphoria’ but the little hassles that your everyday work brings are likely to make you unhappy. So what makes people happy? Scientists say it’s the little things that count – the everyday cheer, good relationship with friends and family, and mood-enhancing activities.
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