Mirror Neurons
Mirror neurons are brain cells that fire both when we perform an action and when we observe someone else doing the same action. They play a role in empathy, helping us understand and share the feelings of others.
The Cocktail Party Effect
The cocktail party effect refers to the brain’s ability to focus on a single conversation in a noisy environment. It showcases the brain’s selective attention and ability to filter out irrelevant information.
The Power of Smiling
Smiling can actually improve your mood, even if it’s forced. The facial feedback hypothesis suggests that facial expressions can influence emotions.
Dopamine and Rewards
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward. Understanding dopamine helps explain motivation, addiction, and the brain’s role in forming habits.
The Zeigarnik Effect
The Zeigarnik Effect is the tendency to remember uncompleted tasks better than completed ones. It highlights the importance of closure and completion in memory and motivation.
Placebo and Nocebo Effects
The placebo effect occurs when a person experiences real changes in their symptoms after receiving a fake treatment. It underscores the mind’s powerful influence on the body, showing that belief alone can sometimes lead to tangible improvements. Just as a person may experience improvements in their condition due to positive expectations with a placebo, they may also experience negative effects when they expect a treatment to be harmful, even if it is not. This is the nocebo effect. The power of expectation, belief, and psychological factors can play a significant role in influencing the way individuals perceive and respond to medical and psychological treatments.
Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is the discomfort felt when holding conflicting beliefs or attitudes. People are motivated to resolve this discomfort, often by changing their beliefs or attitudes.
Happiness and Money
Beyond a certain point, increased wealth doesn’t necessarily lead to increased happiness. The concept of the “hedonic treadmill” suggests that people adapt to changes, returning to a baseline level of happiness.
The Marshmallow Test
The marshmallow test involves offering a child a choice between one small reward immediately or two small rewards if they can wait for a short period. It’s a classic study on delayed gratification and its correlation with success in later life.
Social Media and Well-being
Excessive use of social media has been linked to lower levels of well-being and increased feelings of loneliness. Understanding the impact of technology on mental health is crucial in today’s digital age.
