14 Amazing Psychology Facts You Should Keep to Yourself!

Up until the 19th century scholars thought philosophy and psychology go hand in hand. It was back in the 1870’s when psychology became an independent academic branch. Since then thanks to numerous studies and technological advances, people have learnt a lot, although, the surface is still only scratched.

Read on about these fascinating psychology facts, and be sure to leave us a comment below. What are your experiences? We invite you to share this article and ask your friends to discuss more on this subject.


1. Studies confirm that when a person announces their goals to others, they have smaller chances to achieve them as they lose their motivation.

Even back in 1933 there have been tests that showed that once a person announces their intended goals, they become less likely to complete them because their motivation drops. Scientists believe it comes to this as doing so one’s self-identity is satisfied just enough to prevent them doing all the necessary efforts in order to realize their goals.

2. Most of us have our favorite song that we associate with an emotional event in our lives.

It is well known that music directly influences human emotions. A recent study involving 9 undergraduate students, has shown that the other side of the coin is also true – similar in a way that some odors remind us of moments that once happened. What’s your favorite song and why?


3. Music affects people’s perception of the world.
A new study conducted by a research team at the University of Groningen has found that music has a dramatic influence on human perception. This study was focused particularly on the people’s ability to “see” happy and sad faces when they listened to different songs. Listening to especially happy or sad songs can even change the way people perceive reality.

4. Studies show that people are happier when they spend money on others rather than when spending it on themselves.

The Harvard Business School did a research which showed that we are actually happier when we give money to other people. Of course, this is obvious as each of us often anticipate how others will react to our own Christmas presents, more so than what presents we may receive.

5. You will be happier if you spend your money on experiences instead of possessions, studies show.

An increasingly popular field today focused on the academic study of emotional well-being is human happiness. Studies suggest that we often sacrifice things that make us happy like vacations or visiting some events, in order to purchase possessions.

6. Children are more tensed today, with high school students having the same anxiety levels as an average psychiatric patient in the ‘50s.

Approximately 49 percent of the general population is dealing or has dealt with depression, anxiety, or substance abuse. In particular, there is proof that with each passing decade, mankind suffers more from anxiety and there are multiple speculative factors for that. For example, we now move more, have less interaction with their communities, change professions, are more likely to live alone and less likely to have a spouse.

7. It has been proven that religious activities like attending services and prayer result in lower levels of psychological distress.

“The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Mood Disorders” addresses several research studies that have shown that persons who participate in various religious practices may have a reduced risk of depression and other psychological conditions.


8. Although money can provide you with happiness to some degree, studies show that after 75,000 dollars per year, increased earnings have a small effect on boosting happiness

A study of 450,000 U.S.citizens in 2008 and 2009 suggested that there are two types of happiness, an overall life assessment and emotional well-being (daily contentment). As people had more money, their “life assessment” was higher. However, findings suggest that once they earn over $75,000, any additional earnings are simply seen as more “stuff”.

9. People becoming happier when they surround themselves with other happier people.

We have all faced the situation where we laughed our hearts out with a person simply because they had a contagious laugh. Recent study published in the Psychoneuroendocrinology journal has found that both happiness and stress are contagious, so being around people who are either happy or under stress has a direct effect on us.

10. People feel most stressed between the ages of 18 and 33. After the age of 33 stress levels tend to decline.

A 2012 survey named 2012 Stress in America conducted by the American Psychological Association, found that people feel most stressed between the ages of 18 and 33. Also, their levels of stress appear to be increasing with each passing year.

11. Fooling yourself that you have slept well, even if you haven’t, still boosts your performance.

Almost every person on this planet has faced that situation when they wished for only one or two more hours of sleep. A study recently posted in the Journal of Experimental Psychology has found that when patients were told they had REM sleep above the average (while they actually had not), they were able to perform better on a given test. The researches called this phenomenon a “placebo sleep”.

12. People who are intelligent are more apt to underestimate themselves, while ignorant people more commonly believe they are brilliant.

This type of belief is called the Dunning Kruger Effect, wherein some incompetent people believe they are actually superior and evaluate their capabilities as much higher than what they really are. On the other side of the coin, some highly capable people oftentimes underestimate their capacities, assuming that things which are easy for them, are easy for other people as well.

13. If a person remembers an event in the past, they don’t remember the very event, but the last time they remembered it rather than the very event.

Another fascinating insight into the brain functions, is the fact that every time you have a certain memory, you transform it slightly. A new research study conducted by a Northwestern Medicine has proven that when people recall memories often, makes their memories less exact over time.

14. Decisions become more rational if they are thought in a foreign language.

A new study conducted by a research team at the University of Chicago featuring U.S. and Korean citizens has found that when people think in a foreign language, they reduce misleading and deep seated biases.

Psychology sure is cool, right? We recommend you share this article with other people as well, so they too can learn more interesting psychological facts about themselves.