Have you ever wondered why people keep repeating the same thing in conversations over and over? If you’re anything like me, you can’t ignore the content of conversations because you know that language can be a window to the mind. People repeat what they say for a number of reasons in a variety of contexts. …
We like to think that we see the world as it is and that our eyes function very much like video cameras recording all the details in our field of vision. Nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is that sometimes we are unable to see objects that are right in front of us. …
This article will focus on the mechanics behind the formation of stereotypes, explaining why people stereotype others and how we can begin to break these stereotypes. Stereotyping means attributing a personality trait or a set of personality traits to a group of people. These traits may either be positive or negative and stereotyping of groups …
Dehumanization means stripping humans off of their human qualities. Dehumanized humans are viewed as less than human by the dehumanizers, no longer having the same worth and dignity that humans normally ascribe to each other. Researchers have identified two types of dehumanizations- animalistic and mechanistic dehumanization.1 In animalistic dehumanization, you deny human attributes in the …
What causes homophobia?Why are some people homophobic?What are the psychological and biological drivers of homophobia? This article will attempt to answer these questions. Homophobia is a pervasive phenomenon that has been known to occur since the dawn of human history. It ranges from having antagonistic attitudes toward homosexuals to engaging in violent acts against them. …
Why do people commit suicide?What mental states drive people to take such an extreme step? Once, when I was in my teens, I read a newspaper piece about this politician who’d died in a helicopter crash. He was dearly loved by the people of his region and when they heard of his death, many died …
Gender stereotypes are pervasive, yes but where do they come from? The knee-jerk answer that people give to this question is ‘Society’. As you’ll figure out in the article, there’s more to the story. Sam and Elena were siblings. Sam was 7 and his sister Elena was 5. They got along well except for some …
You decide to learn a skill, say programming, and buy the best book you know about it. After finishing the book and doing some exercises, you feel like you’ve mastered programming. Say your ability to program has reached from level 0 to level 3. You feel like a pro and add ‘programming’ to your resume …
Benjamin Franklin was an 18th-century American statesman, scientist, inventor, musician, and author. You probably got introduced to him at a very young age when you read that nursery rhyme, “Early to bed”. Once, a person lambasted him publicly with a long speech. This angered him but instead of taking some kind of outright revenge, he decided …
The first thing to note when it comes to the psychology of sharing on social media is that the way people behave on social media is not that far removed from how they behave in reality. Just as what people say and do in real life tells us who they are, how they act on …