The 20 Most Surprising Psychological Effects (Explained By A Psychologist)

Psychological effects are fascinating phenomena They influence our perception, thinking, and behavior in surprising ways. These effects, also known as cognitive biases, are predictable patterns in the way we process information and make decisions.

Although most may seem strange or illogical, it is important to note that psychological effects are not mental problems or psychiatric disorders, just they reflect curious peculiarities of the human mind.

Through this article, we will explore 20 of these curious psychological effects

20 psychological effects in which you may recognize yourself

These psychological effects will help us better understand how we interpret reality and how we react to it. Maybe you recognize yourself in one of them.

mandela effect

Tendency to incorrectly remembering historical events or cultural detailsoften sharing these false memories with others and perpetuating the confusion.

The phenomenon that named this effect It is the belief of many people that Nelson Mandela died in prison in the 80s, instead of in 2013, in freedom and, after having even been president of his country.

Zeigarnik effect

Tendency to recall incomplete or interrupted tasks more easily than completed tasks. To-dos are usually remembered with tension and anxiety.

Curiosity: It was described by the Lithuanian psychologist Bliuma Zeigarnik when she noticed that a waiter remembered the orders he still had pending, while he forgot the ones he had already served.

flynn effect

Describe the continuous increase in intelligence scores of the general population, over the decades. There is controversy about the explanation of this phenomenon. Some attribute it to the effect of the educational system (by enhancing the cognitive abilities measured by the tests), while other hypotheses point to improvements in nutrition and general health.

Curiosity: Some research has found that this growth has slowed in recent decades; They talk about the negative Flynn effect.

stendhal syndrome

Stendhal syndrome refers to a intense emotional reaction to artistic beautyin which a person feels overwhelmed and may experience physical symptoms such as dizziness, palpitations, or even loss of consciousness.

Example: A museum visitor who is overwhelmed and moved by a particular work of art.

Hawthorne Effect

is the tendency of people to change their behavior when they feel observedwhich may cause a temporary improvement in performance.

A classic example is that of workers who improve their productivity when they know that a study is being carried out on their work.

synesthesia

People with synesthesia experience a mix and match of the senses, so that a stimulus in one sense triggers a response in another.

For example, a person can see specific colors when hearing certain sounds or musical notes.

Dunning–Kruger effect

The Dunning-Kruger effect refers to the tendency that some people have to overestimating your own skill or knowledge in a certain area, despite the lack of experience or real skills. On the other hand, people with high capacities for a subject tend to underestimate their ability when they are aware of its complexity and of what they still have to learn.

For example, a college student who thinks he is very good at math, but actually underperforms in math.

Mozart effect

It refers to positive impact of listening to classical music on the development of intelligence and other cognitive abilities. It was coined by the French otolaryngologist Alfred Tomatis.

Subsequent studies have found that while listening to classical music does appear to have a beneficial effect, it is not as exaggerated as was assumed decades ago.

Pygmalion effect

There is talk of the Pygmalion effect to refer to the fact that the expectations of one person towards another can influence their performance. If someone has high expectations of another person, that person is more likely to succeed because of the positive feedback and opportunities provided.

When expectations are negative and cause the failure of the person, we speak of negative Pygmalion.

impostor syndrome

Impostor syndrome refers to the feeling that you don’t deserve the success you’ve achieved and that you are some kind of “fraud” or “impostor” in your field. These people doubt their ability and feel that at any moment they will be discovered.

Example: a highly successful professional who feels that he does not deserve his position and that his achievements are due to luck or trickery.

Priming effect

Previous exposure to a stimulus can affect the interpretation or response to another subsequent stimulus. The initial situation can be an experience, a comment from another person, or even a thought in our own mind, and it can condition our subsequent reaction.

For example, if we listen to a song that reminds us of childhood, it is more likely that that day we would like some food that we ate at that time.

Forer effect

people tend to accept vague and general descriptions of your personality as if they were specific and personalized for them. This is because the descriptions are broad enough that many people can relate to them.

For example, when the horoscope describes someone as “an outgoing but sometimes introverted person who cares about others but also has moments of selfishness” this description could apply to many people.

Placebo effect

The placebo effect is known as the phenomenon in which a treatment with no known curative effects improves a person’s healthsimply because you think the therapy is effective.

Example: A person with a headache who gets a sugar pill instead of a real pain reliever, but gets pain relief anyway.

halo effect

The overall positive impression a person has of someone it can influence how you perceive all of your other features. In other words, if someone thinks that a person is attractive or intelligent, they are more likely to think that she is kind and likeable as well.

For example, an interviewer who is impressed by a candidate’s appearance might think that they have all the necessary skills for the job, even if there is evidence to the contrary.

cabal effect

This is the tendency to prefer to be in groups or surround yourself with people with whom you have something in commonsuch as interests, values, or cultural background.

For example, in a workgroup, members who share the same opinion can end up excluding those who think differentlycreating a clique that reinforces their beliefs and opinions.

Cognitive dissonance

People experience discomfort and discomfort when their beliefs, attitudes, or behaviors contradict and conflict. To reduce this discomfort, one of the parties is waived or modified, so that the person deceives himself under a supposed stability.

An example of cognitive dissonance can be that of the people who justify abuse received in childhood saying “my parents beat me, but normal”.

Lost Coin Effect

This phenomenon occurs when a person invests more effort or resources to recover something that has been losteven when the value of the lost item is less than the cost of recovering it.

For example, a tourist loses his camera and spends the rest of his vacation looking for it, instead of enjoying the trip.

salience effect

Tendency to focus on attractive stimuli and ignore those that are more neutral to us. This effect can influence decision making and perceptions.

An example might be a driver distracted by a billboard on the highway, failing to notice an important traffic sign.

selective attention

This is the ability to pay attention only to certain stimuli while ignoring all other distractors. This is a basic aspect for survival and adaptation since our attention span is limited and we must learn to filter out what are the important stimuli.

Surely it has happened to you at some time to be so concentrated on your mobile that you did not notice the noises or the conversations that you were having around you. In those moments, your selective attention is working.

Effect of limited bandwidth

Our brain is very powerful, but it has its restrictions. One of them is the limited ability to process and remember information. In addition, this processing capacity can be affected by factors such as stress or fatigue.