Exploring the forces that shape the human psyche
Life is full of ups and downs. The ups are accompanied by positive emotions and the downs by negative emotions. Negative emotions bring discomfort and pain. The mind uses negative emotions to draw our attention to the pain. One could, theoretically, listen to one’s negative emotions, work through them and find solutions to end the …
The ladder of inference is one of the most useful mental models I’ve come across to become a better thinker. Inference means deriving general conclusions from specific instances. The ladder of inference shows us the steps we take to make inferences and then act on those inferences. The ladder consists of six rungs with selected …
We can broadly classify people into three types based on how they approach conflicts: 1. Conflict avoidants These are people who try to avoid all conflicts. This is generally a poor strategy and shows weakness. 2. Neutral personalities People who only pick conflicts that are worth picking. They understand some battles are worth fighting and …
Dissociation is a psychological phenomenon where a person feels disconnected from reality- or from themselves. Dissociation occurs on a spectrum, ranging from mild to severe. Spacing out and daydreaming are common examples of mild dissociation. You may have noticed that they’re often triggered by mild discomfort such as boredom and information overwhelm. The mind going …
Masculinity and femininity exist on a spectrum. While most men are masculine, there are some that have feminine tendencies and some that are ultra-masculine. Similarly, most women are feminine, some have masculine tendencies and some are ultra-feminine. Levels of masculinity and femininity, like sexual orientation, are set before birth. Long story short, how masculine or …
Learning is the process of moving from a state of not knowing to a state of knowing. Learning typically occurs by understanding new information, i.e., gaining knowledge or developing a new skill. Humans learn in a variety of ways. Some things are simple to learn while others are hard. The stages of learning described in …
Lima syndrome is when a captor or abuser develops a positive connection with the captive. This positive connection could be sympathy, empathy, attachment, or even love. The captor, having developed a bond with the captive, does things in favor of the captive. Lima syndrome is the opposite of Stockholm syndrome, where a captive develops a …
People display nervous body language when they find themselves in threatening social situations. When a person believes they won’t be able to handle a high-stakes, threatening social situation the way they want to, they get nervous and anxious. When you display signs of nervousness and discomfort, you make others uncomfortable as well. People have this …
Limbic resonance is defined as a state of deep emotional and physiological connection between two people. The limbic system in the brain is the seat of emotions. When two people are in limbic resonance, their limbic systems are in tune with each other. Limbic resonance is also referred to as emotional contagion or mood contagion. …
When watching a game on TV, have you noticed how some viewers shout at the players? “Make the pass, you MORON.” “You’ve got to hit the home run this time. COME ON!” I used to think these people were silly and that I could never do such a thing. To my dismay, I caught myself …