So, our brains are pretty amazing. It’s just a pinkish, grayish, squishy mass up there that serves as the command center for the rest of our bodies. And the most fascinating part of our brains, to us at least, is what goes on inside of them. Here, allow us to explain. Here are a few psychological tidbits that we find the most interesting.
Food made by someone else just tastes better, and no, you aren’t just imagining this. You can prepare the exact same dish as another person, and the food that is prepared by someone else is going to taste better despite it being the exact same thing. Why is this? Research found that it has everything to do with the food becoming less appealing to us after we had to stand for so long to prepare it.
Have you ever felt like you might be able to smell colors? Well, you could actually be right. Some people can smell colors, some can see the shape of emotions, and some can hear shapes. This is known as synaesthesia and it happens when our minds involuntarily blend sensations that are typically experienced separately. We have to admit, this sounds pretty cool.
Your memories are wildly easy to manipulate. In fact, it would only take about three hours, on average, to convince someone they committed a crime in their teenage years.
We start to prefer our own accents at just 5 months old. We find it pretty amazing that babies are born with the ability to understand all accents from all over the world, but at around five months babies prefer their mother’s accent and avoid connecting with people that have different accents.
Have you ever wondered why you like scary movies so much despite being so, well, scared? This is because you’re not in any real danger and your brain knows it. And when you’re not in any real danger, fear can be a good thing. Being “good” scared, such as watching scary movies, gives you dopamine, adrenaline, and endorphins. And even though your brain knows you aren’t in any real danger, you get the natural high anyway.
If you’re the type of person that gives experiences as gifts, then you’re doing everything right. Research suggests that giving someone the gift of an experience has a more lasting positive effect on people’s happiness. And those that purchase the experience feel as though they’ve spent their money more wisely, so it’s a win-win all around.