Psychology Archives

Psychological Reactance: Why You Want That Forbidden Fruit

How do you react when you’re told you can’t have something? Do you accept it or do you want it more? What if someone tries to take away something you have? When your choices are limited you may experience psychological reactance. Psychological reactance is the negative response you have when your choices are limited outside of your control. It comes from wanting to avoid loss. See how your fear of losing options influences your decisions with examples including the Romeo and Juliet effect.

Are You a Sucker? How to Avoid Being Manipulated

Have you ever thought that someone was trying to trick you? Could you tell they were using persuasion tactics to convince you? Do you know how to avoid being manipulated? Compliance practitioners are professional persuaders. They are able to manipulate you into agreeing even if you are trying to avoid manipulation. For each of the six principles of persuasion, there are key strategies to learn if you want to know how to avoid being manipulated.

Commitment and Consistency: Are You Loyal to Bad Ideas?

Have you ever followed through on a decision even if you doubted it? Maybe you felt like it was too late or you were already in too deep. Maybe you didn’t want to look like a flip-flopper. You were probably being driven by commitment and consistency principles. The Consistency Principle of persuasion is the tendency for humans to commit to a course of action or to a belief and to pressure themselves to conform to that commitment. Learn how the commitment and consistency are used to manipulate you through a consistency concept example.

These Social Proof Examples Show How You Become a Lemming

Have you ever been drawn to a crowd just because there was a crowd? Do you ever find yourself buying something based on its popularity? How about laughing when everyone else laughs even if you didn’t get the joke? These situations are all social proof examples. The Social Proof Principle is a theory stating that you decide what’s correct based on what other people think is correct. This theory is often used to sell products by showing how popular they are with other people. Learn with social proof examples and see when the social proof principle of persuasion might lead

Sleep in the Elderly: How Sleep Changes as You Age

Is sleep in the elderly different than sleep at other ages? Are the elderly at a higher risk of sleep-related disorders? Sleep changes with age, and sleep in the elderly is no exception. Unfortunately, sleep in the elderly is characterized by declining sleep quality and difficulty sleeping. Sleep in the elderly can also have physical, mental, and emotional side effects, and sleep should be an important part of your health plan at any age.

Escalating Commitment: Why Hazing Creates Loyalty

Have you heard terrible stories about pledging fraternities? Why do people keep joining and stay loyal if it’s so awful? How does the psychology of hazing create escalating commitment? Escalating commitment is a manipulation tactic that leverages one small commitment to create bigger and bigger commitments. Your desire for consistency creates a commitment bias. Learn how the escalation of commitment bias creates loyalty even after difficult experiences.

Staying Up Late: Health Effects of Sleep Deprivation

What are the health effects of sleep deprivation? Are they serious? The health effects of sleep deprivation on the body can be serious and varied. It’s one of the reasons it’s important to get enough sleep; health effects of sleep deprivation can be serious and unpredictable.

Safety in Numbers? Not With the Bystander Effect

Do you feel safer going out at night when there are people around? Have you heard of the bystander effect? Pluralistic ignorance shows there might not be safety in numbers. Pluralistic ignorance is a phenomenon in which a group of people behaves contrary to the norms and standards of most of the individual members of that group. The bystander effect is a type of pluralistic ignorance. Learn how to counter the bystander effect.

The Liking Bias: Why You Can’t Say No to Your Friends

Have you ever found it hard to say “no” to someone you like? What if a friend or neighbor tries to sell you something? It might feel easier to just buy it than to feel uncomfortable after rejecting them. How does the liking bias influence the way you make decisions? Robert Cialdini’s Liking Principle of persuasion is a theory stating that people are more likely to grant requests from people they know and like. It also states that you’re more likely to grant requests from people you perceive to be good-looking or to like you. We’ll cover the basics of

The Scary Psychological Effects of Sleep Deprivation

What are the psychological effects of sleep deprivation? How can they hurt you? The psychological effects of sleep deprivation can be severe. You know that sleep has numerous benefits for the brain, but may not know the psychological effects of sleep deprivation, and how depriving someone of sleep can leave both short-term and long-lasting harm.