Psychology

What does it feel like to be watched as you work on something? Does it feel pressurising? Do you feel stressed? Does that make you want to do better to show to the person that you are able to do the job you are doing well? If your answer to the last question is yes, that is the Hawthorne effect in action!  …Well, somewhat.  Based on the known definition of the effect, this would be a correct example of the effect. However, due to some reasons which we will explain later on in

We’ve all probably heard of two of the four stress responses; fight  or flight —the body’s instinctive reactions to danger. But have you ever been in a situation where your body seems to betray you instead?  Maybe, you freeze up during a presentation, your mind going blank. Or perhaps, in a simple interaction with a teacher, you try to smile, but your face feels tense—and you’re now stuck with an award smile plastered on your face, eye twitching. That’s your nervous system in

Psychology is the study of human behaviour. It explores why we think and feel the way we do. What motivates us to behave in the way we do? Why do people of similar backgrounds behave differently from one another? In 1943, a psychologist named Abraham Maslow published a paper titled “A Theory of Human Motivation”, where he attempted to explain what motivates us to pursue our different needs.  In this article, we will explore the theory commonly known as Maslow’s hierarchy of n

You, assuming you’re human, have probably (maybe unconsciously) apologized to an object before sometime in your life; whether that’s to your stuffed animal for pushing it off the bed, or to a door for slamming it too hard. But what is the reason behind such actions? Let’s state the obvious. Some may just be apologizing to objects out of habit. Our social norms have whipped humans into shape – on a daily basis, we are expected to behave politely and in a proper manner. So it’s

Have you ever gotten your fortune told by someone, and felt that the readings of the fortune teller were extremely accurate to you? Or perhaps you have read your horoscope reading for a day and thought that it fits you exactly? These are all cases of the Barnum effect in play! In this article, we will explore what exactly this effect is about and how this effect occurs. We will also explore the impacts of this effect on our decision-making and how being aware of it happening

There’s a strange comfort in seeing yourself as the one who’s always hurt—if you’re always the victim, you’re never responsible—because...