22 psychological effects that distort the perception of reality

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Learn about the most common brain tricks so you don't fall for them anymore.

1. Spotlight effect

A person tends to exaggerate the interest of other people in his person. Imagine: you stumbled ridiculously in the street or noticed a speck on your shirt halfway to work. It seems that everyone saw it, as if you are illuminated by a bright spotlight beam, and the attention of those around you is completely and completely focused only on you.

In fact, this is not the case. Someone will really pay attention to a speck or your clumsiness, but by no means all. And they won't give it as much importance as you think.

2. Belief in the justice of the world

People believe that justice will prevail: good deeds will be rewarded, and villains will be punished. And if trouble happens to a bad person, we think: "Serves him right, he deserves it."

A person just needs to know that life is fair and everyone will get what they deserve. Someone calls it God's will or karma, but the essence does not change.

3. Placebo effect

The effect is based on the powerful power of suggestion. Placebo is a dummy medicine that does not have healing properties, which is offered to the patient as an effective drug for his problem. As a result, the person is waiting for the result, and after a while he really feels better - this is the placebo effect.

4. Audience effect

A person does the same things in different ways, alone and in the presence of other people. Moreover, observers can influence both positively and negatively. For example, a person will be better able to cope with a job that is familiar to him and it will be worse to carry out new assignments when someone else is with him.

Psychologist Robert Zayonts believed that observers cause excitement, because their reaction to human actions is unpredictable. When a person does what he knows and knows, it is easier for him to cope with psychological stress and fear of evaluation than if he takes on a completely new unfamiliar task.

5. The Google effect, or digital amnesia

People have stopped memorizing information that can be easily found on the web. This is no longer needed. The Internet makes life easier: everything that was previously stored in a library or a person's memory is now available at the click of a mouse. Information is perceived, but the brain thinks that it is not necessary to focus and memorize it, because there is Google.

6. The Barnum effect, or the Forer effect

We consider the general characteristics of our personality to be accurate if we think that they are created specifically for us.

Psychologist Bertram Forer invited a group of students to take a test. The participants completed the task and handed over the papers for processing, which they did not actually carry out. Forer simply wrote one general description of personality that would fit everyone and presented it to his students. He called students one at a time and asked them to rate the accuracy of the characteristics on a five-point scale. The result was an average score of 4, 26. That is, according to the participants, the accuracy was high.

7. The Pygmalion effect, or the Rosenthal effect

The psychological phenomenon belongs to the category of self-fulfilling prophecies. Some sociologists describe this as self-hypnosis: a person's expectations influence his actions and deeds.

When we think that we are sympathetic to the interlocutor (even if this is actually not so), then we build the conversation in a special manner and imbued with mutual sympathy. Or, when a manager has high expectations for an employee, sets challenging but achievable goals, the employee shows greater productivity and better results. Such self-programming works for both success and failure: the expectation of failure will certainly lead to it.

8. The paradox of choice

The choice is baffling. And although it seems that a large selection is good, in reality it turns out differently.

The myriad of alternatives make the process of choice painful.

You need to figure out how each of the options differs from the others and which one will be better. This is not only long, but also painful. As a result, a person may not choose anything at all, or still stop at one option, but will no longer get pleasure from it.

9. Bystander effect

The more people are near the scene of a crime or road accident, the less chance that one of them will react and help the victims. Each eyewitness thinks that it is not he who should help, but the other.

Responsibility for an act is distributed among several people, and each individual person will have it lower than it actually is. But if there is only one eyewitness to the incident, he understands that there is no one to shift the responsibility to, and is most likely to come to the rescue.

10. Focus effect

We attach great importance to one detail, ignoring the big picture. This can lead to incorrect judgments about the situation as a whole or to negative consequences.

For example, some people think that money is the key to happiness. But this is not so: a high income in the absence of health, time or love can hardly be called the ultimate dream.

11. Survivor bias

We make wrong assumptions because we don't consider all aspects.

During World War II, extras Abraham Wald was asked to calculate which parts of the bomber planes needed to be strengthened in order to increase the number of pilots returning to the base. Wald discovered that aircraft were getting to the base with damage to the fuselage: on the wings, tail and other details. There were much fewer vehicles with damaged engines or gas tanks. Someone suggested strengthening the wings and tail - it seemed logical. But Wald thought differently: since there is no damage to the engine and gas tank among the returned aircraft, it means that they simply do not get to the base. He decided to strengthen precisely these parts and was right.

It would be a mistake to take into account only data on returnees, that is, “survivors,” while the overall picture may be quite different.

12. First impression effect

You can't make a first impression twice. And it is important! The opinion formed in the first minutes of acquaintance affects the further assessment of your person. And they will build communication with you, relying on the impression from the first meeting.

13. The Dr. Fox effect

Bright presentation of information by an authoritative speaker can disguise the futility of what was said. The listeners will leave the audience with the thought that they have gained new valuable knowledge, even if they have listened to outright nonsense.

14. Confirmation bias

A person gives preference to information that confirms his point of view. Even if the data is unreliable, it will still rely on it. A common trap that everyone has fallen into more than once.

15. Illusory correlation

People believe in a connection between things that are not really dependent on each other. This trap creates preconditions for the development of stereotypes. “All blondes are stupid”, “In large cities, people are soulless and embittered”, “The day did not go well, because in the morning a black cat crossed my path” are typical examples of illusory correlation.

We attach importance to one bright, memorable aspect, but ignore the rest and because of this we misplace the causal relationship.

16. Halo effect

The general impression of a person affects his assessment in particular cases. Thinking that a person is good, we believe that he is also smart and attractive. Or vice versa: an attractive person seems to us to be good and smart. We project the general opinion onto specific qualities, which is actually wrong.

17. Tamagotchi effect

Many people remember this curious toy from the late 90s: a cute plastic shell and a monochrome screen with an electronic pet. We fed the ward on a strict schedule, gave medicine if he got sick, and grieved very much when he ended up dying of boredom. Children became attached to a fake pet and experienced warm, sincere feelings.

Now the Tamagotchi has lost its former glory, but the attachment to gadgets has remained. Mobile phones, tablets, and even standalone apps are all emotionally addictive. It can manifest itself at any age and have both positive and negative effects.

18. Veblen effect

People tend to defiantly buy goods at a high price in order to emphasize social status. It seems unreasonable to many to consciously choose the most expensive item in the store just for the sake of proudly carrying it to the checkout with the price tag up. But it really works: in the season of price increases, demand for goods also increases.

19. Effect of imperfection

Absolute perfection repels, but clumsiness and slight disheveledness evoke sympathy. Especially if a person is self-ironic and any embarrassment turns into a joke. So if you want to please someone, do not try to seem better than you really are. Simplicity and naturalness prevail.

20. Zeigarnik effect

Another psychological phenomenon associated with memory. It turns out that we are better at remembering an interrupted action than a completed one.

So, if a person is not allowed to finish what he started, a certain tension arises that does not release until the task is completed. And so he will remember her.

For example, an employee prepares a report when suddenly he is asked to enter a conference room and hold a meeting. Returning to his workplace a few hours later, he will not forget what he was doing. But if he had time to finish, the memories would not have been so clear. These tricks are also used in advertising: the understatement in the video makes the viewer remember it better.

21. Projection effect

People attribute to others those qualities, emotions and experiences that are in themselves. Good people think everyone is the same. Those who have experienced a painful breakup are sure that other couples will also break up sooner or later.

22. The ostrich effect

When something bad happens in our life, we don't want to know the details. Figuratively speaking, we hide our heads in the sand and try not to delve into the problem. Although, as you know, ostriches do not do this. But investors try to monitor the state of their deposits as rarely as possible when the market starts to decline.