10 Curious Investigations About Psychology That Will Surprise You
Every year Thousands of studies are published in different scientific journals, some of them really curious The truth is that psychology is a science that tries to explain the behavior of individuals and the functioning of the mind and brain, and there are answers to these questions that may seem strange.
Sometimes we ask ourselves the question: “Why do people act like this?” And, no matter how many times we think about it, there are behaviors that do not seem to have a simple explanation. Therefore, it is not surprising that science provides conclusions that may seem surprising to us.
It is clear that the studies need to be replicated so that we can ensure the reliability of their conclusions. Even so, some results of the research carried out in recent years are still striking.
In today’s article, I have set out to make a list of the 10 most curious studies on psychology. If you want to know more about this research, just You have to click on the title of each point and the link will take you directly to another post so you can know more information.
1. Cats dominate their owners
Those of you who have cats at home may identify with this research. According to a study conducted by the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom (2009), cats have developed a skill to dominate their owners: a characteristic purr The research was published in the journal Current Biology and the study was led by Karen McComb, a behavioral ecologist who decided to test her theory because she routinely woke up to the calls of her cat.
The author states that domestic cats use a solicitation purr, which is a characteristic meow that has a higher frequency than the usual purr. Felines only use it when they want something, and it provokes in their owners a paternal instinct similar to that of parents with babies. Apparently, the solicitation purr is more acceptable to humans than a meow, which usually provokes a rejection response.
There are many studies that provide scientific evidence on the benefits of music, for example, that mitigates pain, optimizes performance or predisposes us to love. In fact, music is used as a form of therapy, what is known as Music Therapy. For this reason, recently, Dr. Jacob Jolij from the University of Groningen (Holland) revealed the top 10 songs from the last 50 years that make us feel happier and have a positive effect on our mood almost instantly.
The author of the research claims to have found a mathematical equation through which we can determine which musical themes influence our mood to a greater or lesser extent. Is the next:
The formula evaluates the song that makes us feel emotionally good (FGI) according to its lyrics (L), its tempo in beats per minute (BPM) and its key (K).
After analyzing the results of the study, the author concluded that these are the 10 musical themes that positively affect our behavior and make us feel better:
1. Don’t Stop Me Now (Queen)
2. Dancing Queen (Abba)
3. Good Vibrations (The Beach Boys)
4. Uptown Girl (Billy Joel)
5. Eye of the Tiger (Survivor)
6. I’m a Believer (The Monkeys)
7. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Cyndi Lauper)
8. Livin’ on a Prayer (Jon Bon Jovi)
9. I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor)
10. Walking on Sunshine (Katrina & The Waves)
3. Men with beards are more attractive and flirt more
Science has spoken, and this time it concludes that guys with beards are more successful than those who don’t grow facial hair. According to Barnaby Dixon and Bob Brooks, authors of an experiment that was carried out at the University of South Wales and published in Evolution & Human Behavior. “Two-week beard has a seductive effect on men, which makes them considered much more attractive by women.”
It seems that the cause of this is that boys who have shaved faces have fewer attributes associated with masculinity and are more docile, according to another study carried out at the University of Northumbria and published in Personality and Individual Differences.
In just under ten years, Facebook has become part of our daily lives Such is the impact it has had on society, that psychologists have been warning for some time about the problems that social networks (and new technologies) can cause if young people are not educated for their correct use. Fomo Syndrome, Nomophobia or Technostress are some of the pathologies associated with the new environment in which we live.
It is important to educate young people in this aspect because Facebook can have a negative effect on identity formation, as well as cause serious self-esteem problems. In fact, Facebook can make us unhappy, according to a study carried out by the Happiness Research Institute in Denmark.
5. The 10 most unfaithful countries in the world
Although infidelity is considered the greatest betrayal in a relationship, millions of people in the world are and have been unfaithful. This despite the fact that many individuals think that adultery is considered an exception and is exclusive to bad people, those who have no heart.
According to a survey on the website “The Richest”, There are more infidelities than many people imagine Additionally, the website revealed the 10 most unfaithful countries in the world. This is the order:
Thailand
Denmark
Italy
Germany
France
Norway
Belgium
Spain
United Kingdom
Finland
6. Smart people masturbate more
Intelligence has been a subject of study on many occasions, for example, to find out what characteristic features of smart people are or what music smart people listen to. Now, few studies are as curious as the one carried out by the National School of Sexual Health and Behavior led by sexologist Debby Herbenick, who claims that people with higher educational levels tend to masturbate more
7. What music do smart people listen to?
As we have seen, more intelligent people practice masturbation more frequently in their free time. But what music do they listen to when they’re not busy? Well, this is what Virgil Griffith, an application developer, set out to find out. The results of his research were collected in the dossier “Music That Makes You Dumb.”
The conclusions show that young students with lower grades listened to genres such as Hip Hop and Reggaeton On the other hand, students with higher grades listened to Ludwig Van Beethoven and different musical bands such as U2, Counting Crows, The Shins or Radiohead.
8. Women over 28 do not attract men
There is a popular belief that men get better with age. But what happens in the case of women? Although the results are debatable, a group of Finnish researchers from Åbo Akademi University who conducted a study of 12,000 male subjects between 25 and 40 years of age, They concluded that women from the age of 28 stop being sexually interested in men
The study was published in a Russian media outlet called Spbdnevnik, and its results have created controversy. However, it has always been said that men like younger women. Will it be true?
9. Research uncovers a trick that motivates people to change
Change is not easy because it forces us to leave our comfort zone. In fact, many people turn to change professionals, such as a coach, to carry out this action. There are theories for change that are very effective (for example, Prochaska and DiClemente’s Transtheoretical Model of Change), but one study claims that change is easier than it seems.
The study, published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, explains that questions that must be answered “yes” or “no” on paper or on a computer are a powerful weapon for change because they do not allow explaining the reasons why they are being done wrong. the things. This would cause cognitive dissonance, and the discomfort would be enough to make the change. Science will have to continue investigating to find out if the conclusions of this controversial study are true.
10. Intelligent women tend to be single
We live in a society that pushes us towards marriage, although there are more and more people who see being single as something positive. Although there is not much research on this, There may be a relationship between being single and intelligence as stated by Bertrand Regader in one of his latest articles.
There is a hypothesis that more intelligent women are more demanding and therefore tend to remain single. But research carried out by John Carney that was published in Daily Mail under the title “Why do intelligent men choose less intelligent women?” states that men often look for less intelligent women to have a relationship with. For that reason, intelligent women tend to stay single.
