Psychology Archives

The “Big Five” Personality Theory: Our Basic Traits

What is the “big five” personality theory? Are there personality traits we can change, or are they all set in stone? The “big five” personality traits are neuroticism, extroversion, openness to new experiences, agreeableness, and conscientiousness and these traits are completely out of our conscious control. However, we still control our self-narratives by changing things like our goals, beliefs, and values. Keep reading to learn more about the “big five” personality theory.

The Consciousness Continuum: An Unsolvable Riddle?

What do psychologists mean when they talk about the consciousness continuum? How many states of consciousness can a being experience? Do you think non-organic material can possess consciousness? The continuum of consciousness refers to the spectrum of mental, emotional, and perceptive states a being can experience. Although we have studied a variety of human and animal states of consciousness, we will likely never know all possible states since consciousness likely extends well beyond the experiences of organic beings. Keep reading to learn about the consciousness continuum.

The Spiritual Heart: How This Chakra Functions

What is the function of your spiritual heart? How does your heart chakra regulate your life experience? Your spiritual heart is an exquisite regulator of your experience. It governs your life because it opens and closes in sync with human relationships. Keep reading to learn about your spiritual heart chakra, what happens when it gets blocked, and how to release those blockages.

Self-Herding: Stop Repeating Your Irrational Behaviors

What does self-herding mean? How can a good first impression lead you to make irrational choices? Is it possible to un-form your self-herding habits? Self-herding is when you decide if something is good or bad depending on your past experiences, then you continue to copy that behavior until it becomes a habit. This can lead you to justify your irrational decisions. However, it is possible to recognize and change your self-herding habits. Continue on to learn more about self-herding and how to avoid it.

The 2 Types of Habits That Can Change Your Life

What are the two types of special habits from Tiny Habits? How can you turn a negative trigger into a positive one to become happier? The two special types of habits from Tiny Habits are “Meanwhile Habits,” and “Pearl Habits.” A Meanwhile Habit is a habit you do while you’re waiting for something to happen and a Pearl Habit is something that starts as a small irritation and grows into something beautiful. Keep reading to learn more about these two types of habits.

The Elephant and the Rider: The Happiness Hypothesis

How does the metaphor of the elephant and the rider signify a divided mind? In what four ways is the mind divided? What are primal emotions? In the book The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt, he uses the metaphor of a person riding an elephant to explain the human mind. However, the rider/elephant metaphor only describes the back-and-forth struggle going on within the self. There are other dimensions to this division. Keep reading to learn more about the elephant and the rider and the four divisions of the mind.

The Decoy Effect: Marketing by Distraction

What is the decoy effect? How are we manipulated into making decisions without even knowing it? How can you use the decoy effect to your advantage? The decoy effect is when you’re presented with options, including an obviously unfavorable option, to trigger a comparison that will guide you towards a certain choice. Marketing agencies, subscription services, and even real estate agents use this technique. Continue on to learn more about the decoy effect.

Why Do We Lie? The Two Types of Dishonesty

Why do honest people lie? What are the two types of dishonesty? There are two types of dishonesty. The first type is the worst, it is the premeditated and sometimes criminal kind of lying. The second type is innocuous, the type that you’ve most likely done in everyday life like taking a pen from work. Find out why our brains are okay with little lies and where it sets the line. Continue on for more about why we lie.

The Remembering Self and the Experiencing Self

What is the difference between the remembering self and the experiencing self? How do the two selves interact? The distinction between the remembering and the experiencing self was first made by Israeli psychologist and behavioral economics Daniel Kahneman to describe the two modes of self. The experiencing self exists only in the present moment, while the remembering self exists only in retrospect. Both selves interact to create perspective and inform decision-making. Keep reading to learn about the dichotomy between the remembering self and the experiencing self.

Relative Happiness: Stop Comparing Yourself

What is relative happiness? Why can comparing yourself to others be so detrimental? How can you improve your happiness levels? Relative happiness is when you ceaselessly compare your life to the lives of others. This kind of thinking will almost always result in dissatisfaction and envy. But you can learn to control your comparison compulsions. Keep reading to learn how to overcome relative happiness.