Things Worth Noting
Inhaling a partner’s scent triggers a powerful relaxation response by lowering cortisol levels and boosting oxytocin, the “bonding hormone,” which reduces anxiety and improves sleep quality through feelings of emotional safety. This effect, rooted in olfaction, involves the olfactory bulb sending signals to the brain’s limbic system, shifting the autonomic nervous system toward calm and […]
Change blindness is a fascinating psychology phenomenon where people fail to notice big changes in a visual scene, revealing limits in perception, attention, and memory. Unlike inattentional blindness (missing unexpected events like a gorilla in a crowd), change blindness happens when obvious alterations—like objects vanishing or people swapping—go undetected despite looking directly at them. Classic […]
High-conflict homes with chronic yelling, family violence, emotional or physical abuse create ongoing stress for children, reshaping their developing brains. This early adversity heightens activity in the amygdala and anterior insula—key areas for threat detection—producing patterns similar to those seen in combat veterans. Children become hypervigilant, staying in a constant state of hyperarousal that raises […]
Solomon Asch’s 1950s conformity experiments revealed how powerful social pressure can override clear personal judgment. In the classic line judgment task—disguised as a vision test—participants matched a target line to one of three comparison lines. Alone, people were almost always correct, but when surrounded by confederates unanimously giving wrong answers, about 75% conformed at least […]
People who think they’re smarter than they are often show it through overconfidence and a lack of self-awareness. They may dominate conversations, interrupt others, overuse jargon, or insist they’re right even when evidence is unclear. These behaviors come from insecurity and an inability to recognize personal limits. Subtle signs include giving unsolicited advice, refusing to […]
Emotional intelligence, often abbreviated as EQ or emotional quotient, is the ability to recognize, understand, and manage our own emotions while also perceiving and influencing the feelings of others. Coined by psychologists in the 1990s and popularized through extensive research, EQ encompasses key components: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. High EQ contributes to […]