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“I don’t judge by appearance” – really?
You will probably agree that we should not be guided by their appearance when judging other people. Many of us directly declare that “I do not judge people by appearance.” Still, we often unconsciously judge by appearance.
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How the average person understands statistical data
According to research results, many people have surprisingly little knowledge of statistics. One of such studies (Smedslund, 1963 as cited in: Tyszka, 1999) examined whether nurses were able to assess whether there was a relationship between any symptoms and the disease. They were given to review 100 patient cards for the experiment, each containing information […]
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How do we come to be sure of our beliefs
Imagine having to guess what is governing the sequence of numbers: “2,4,6”. To guess the rule, you can tell other strings of numbers and ask if the strings match the rule. The task is apparently very simple … “10,12,14?” – yes, it complies with this rule. “106,108,110?” – yes, this sequence also complies with this […]
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Can pessimism be beneficial?
In previous articles, I wrote about the positive distortions of our image. The fact that most think they are better than most; that when we succeed, we conclude that it is our merit, and if we fail, we were simply unlucky; that we don’t believe that something bad could happen to us and the like […]
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Planning our activities and confidence in our knowledge, i.e. how we overestimate ourselves
In my article on self-serving bias, I mentioned that we often unfoundedly consider ourselves superior to others, but even when we do not compare ourselves to anyone, we tend to overestimate ourselves.
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The illusion of control
It is nice to feel in control of what is happening, but there are situations that, despite our best efforts, we cannot control. It would be rational in such situations to admit that well – I have no influence on this event, but research shows that we often succumb to the illusion of control.
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Unrealistic optimism, or are we too optimistic?
Unrealistic optimism is a concept that is very well known in psychology. Many studies show that people are often characterized by unreasonably high optimism, which can also be seen in everyday life. We do not wear seat belts, we cycle without a helmet, we do not insure our apartments, we do not regularly attend medical […]
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You skydive? And you’re not afraid?
I can’t count how many times I’ve heard this question. And I never know how to answer, because you can’t simply say “yes” or “no”. It is differently, a lot has changed as I gained experience and it depends on what kind of “fear” we are talking about. I will try to explain it :)
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To think well about yourself, i.e. self-serving bias and cognitive dissonance
The human mind can do a lot to convince you that you are an intelligent and valuable person. We like to have good self-esteem and are reluctant to admit to ourselves that we have done something unfair or unwise.
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What diet for insomnia?
By entering “insomnia diet” or “food for insomnia” on Google, you can find a lot of advice: lots of carbohydrates and little protein, omega-3 fatty acids, fish, milk, almonds, walnuts, honey sandwiches, cheese, cabbage … and what does scientific research say about it? As it turns out after reviewing them, not much …
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