Mind-Blowing Psychological Facts Part Two

Psychology surely aids us in explaining, to quite an extent, why we act and react the way we do. It not only helps our decision making abilities, stress management and general behaviour but also to draw a clearer path based on the understanding of ourselves.

This week we shall conclude our two part article on useful psychological facts.

Is Love At First Sight?

As we all know Einstein was right about the relativity of time. We’ve all heard about love at first sight. Falling in love can happen in a fifth of a second, according to research conducted at Syracuse University. 

The same research also found that falling in love triggers several areas of the brain and exhilaration inducing chemicals such as vasopressin, adrenaline, oxytocin and  dopamine are released. The overall effect of this is similar to being high on Cocaine. The result! 

We feel less pain, cannot wait to be with the one we have fallen in love with and at times there is the uncontrollable desire for sex. 

According to some estimates it takes six months to two years for the excessive desire for sex to abate. 

Thankfully, this is replaced with a greater production of oxytocin, the love hormone when you just love snuggling with each other.

Always Look On The Bright Side 

The glass is half empty. No, it’s half full. Hey! There’s space for vodka in the glass. Optimism is a tendency we all should develop. 

According to research it contributes towards both mental and physical health. Optimists are known to do better in all spheres of life, be it work, social settings or you name it. 

They are also able to take on challenging and demanding situations better and make them less painful.

At one time it was the conviction about the existence of God. Today, most of us swear by science. In both cases we know very little. According to estimates, about 85% of scientific studies are just ‘creative’.

Even learned scientists agree they know very little about things such as the universe and the brain.

But still, the belief in science has acquired such durable proportions that the placebo effect continues to grow stronger and stronger with the passing of time. 

According to this paper , “An extensive analysis of trial data has found that responses to sham treatments have become stronger over time, making it harder to prove a drug’s advantage over placebo.” Well, whatever works.

Be Kind

How we see other shows the way we are. When we view others positively shows the positive traits in us and vice versa. 

This study talks about those who view others positively as being kind hearted and emotionally stable. 

It goes on to say: “Your perceptions of others reveal so much about your own personality,” says Dustin Wood, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Wake Forest and lead author of the study, about his findings. 

By asking study participants to each rate positive and negative characteristics of just three people, the researchers were able to find out important information about the rater’s well-being, mental health, social attitudes and how they were judged by others.”

Opposites Don’t Attract

It’s a misconception to believe that opposites attract. Many an author in the past has gone on to say opposites attract only to be proved wrong. We are essentially and fundamentally attracted to those who are similar to us.

This paper out of many others and our own intuition conclusively prove we are attracted to those with whom we share common traits and values. 

Come the next time, look for the one with whom you’ll enjoy a sandwich in the park as much as a five-star dinner.

Missed the first past of this series? Here we have it for you:

Mind-Blowing Psychological Facts For You To Impress Your Friends

Support us!

All your donations will be used to pay the magazine’s journalists and to support the ongoing costs of maintaining the site.