Psychology, page 6
How minds work: biases, behaviour, motivation, emotions, research on people. 266 links, newest first. Page 6 of 6.
Links 251 to 266
Human Benchmark
Tool · humanbenchmark.com · Issue #34
Human Benchmark is a site of games and tests that measure reflexes, accuracy, and memory, letting you compare your results with other internet users.
Summary
Human Benchmark is a site of games and tests that measure reflexes, accuracy, and memory, letting you compare your results with other internet users. It is meant as entertainment for passing time.
Laughter makes leaders more motivating
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #32
In a global study, kids answer yes to smiling or laughing a lot, then adults answer no
Summary
Laughter works on the brain like exercise, and the speakers say humor makes leaders more motivating and teams more bonded.
Two speakers who spent a decade studying humor say laughter works on the brain like exercise and meditation combined. A global study of over a million people found adults smile and laugh far less after entering the workforce. Their research found leaders with a good sense of humor are seen as 27 percent more motivating, and shared laughter makes strangers feel closer.
Key points- In a global study, kids answer yes to smiling or laughing a lot, then adults answer no
- Leaders with a good sense of humor are seen as 27 percent more motivating
- The speakers say laughing together floods the brain with hormones linked to love
Soft White Underbelly (YouTube Channel)
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #30
Soft White Underbelly is a YouTube channel of interviews and portraits of the human condition, created by photographer Mark Laita.
Summary
Soft White Underbelly is a YouTube channel of interviews and portraits of the human condition, created by photographer Mark Laita. People can apply to be interviewed by emailing a short version of their story, their location, and a 15 to 30 second video of themselves. An ad-free, uncensored version of the videos is available through a separate subscription channel.
Dopamine Detox: Trick Your Brain to Love Doing Hard Things
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #26
Andrew Kirby's 13-minute video is Episode 1 of his Dopamine Detox course.
Summary
Andrew Kirby's 13-minute video is Episode 1 of his Dopamine Detox course. It introduces the dopamine fast and promises to cover its benefits, rules, how to run one, and the science behind it. Later episodes and a discussion subreddit are linked from the description.
How People Read Online: Scanning, Not Reading
Read · nngroup.com · Issue #24
Kate Moran of Nielsen Norman Group summarizes five eyetracking studies over 13 years, which found that people mostly scan online content rather than read it.
Summary
Kate Moran of Nielsen Norman Group summarizes five eyetracking studies over 13 years, which found that people mostly scan online content rather than read it. The 2016 and 2019 studies included participants in the US and Beijing. Newer patterns include the pinball pattern on search results, while the core scanning habits from 2006 still appear. Recommendations include clear headings, front-loaded key information, and plain language.
I Made a Secret YouTube Channel to Prove It's Not Luck
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #21
Streamer Ludwig Ahgren says in this 2021 video that he made a secret YouTube channel to prove his success is not luck.
Summary
Streamer Ludwig Ahgren says in this 2021 video that he made a secret YouTube channel to prove his success is not luck. The description links to his related video about how a door made a streamer $1 million.
Attention is the art of learning
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #21
The speaker calls attention the number one rule of memory and learning
Summary
The art of learning and memory is the art of attention.
Jim Kwik, shown in a short clip, names attention as the number one rule of memory and learning. He opens with a hand exercise and asks who wants to learn faster and remember more.
Key points- The speaker calls attention the number one rule of memory and learning
- Opens with a physical exercise: shake a hand out, make a fist, touch chin
Watch This Before You Make Another Decision
Watch · youtube.com · Issue #20
Gary Vaynerchuk argues that many people struggle to choose between two options because they fear never knowing how the other would have turned out.
Summary
Gary Vaynerchuk argues that many people struggle to choose between two options because they fear never knowing how the other would have turned out. He tells viewers to stop letting that fear control them. The video runs under six minutes and was posted in 2019.
Three questions reveal personality and more
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #19
Players name a favorite color, animal and body of water, each with three deep reasons
Summary
A three-question game with deep reasons reveals personality, ideal partner and sexuality without players realizing it.
The speaker describes a game for new acquaintances built on three questions: favorite color, favorite animal, and favorite body of water, each with three deep reasons. Afterward, each answer is reinterpreted by crossing out the question word and writing a new one: the color answer reveals a view of your personality, the animal answer a view of your perfect mate, and the water answer a view of your sexuality.
Key points- Players name a favorite color, animal and body of water, each with three deep reasons
- Crossing out each word turns the answer into a hidden question about personality, partner or sexuality
- Players answer without knowing what they reveal, but the host does
PrinciplesYou: A Personality Assessment from Ray Dalio
Tool · principlesyou.com · Issue #18
PrinciplesYou is a personality assessment that helps users find out what they are like and how they relate to others.
Summary
PrinciplesYou is a personality assessment that helps users find out what they are like and how they relate to others. The page is linked to Ray Dalio, and the author says they have taken several personality tests and recommends this one alongside Clifton's Strengths.
The Link Between Great Thinking and Walking
Read · lithub.com · Issue #18
Anthropologist Jeremy DeSilva, in an excerpt from his book First Steps, argues that walking helps people think.
Summary
Anthropologist Jeremy DeSilva, in an excerpt from his book First Steps, argues that walking helps people think. He notes that Charles Darwin developed much of his theory while walking. A Stanford study found students who walked on a treadmill scored about 60% higher on a creative-uses test, and a University of Iowa study linked regular walks to improved brain connectivity in older adults.
Eight Psychological Tricks Restaurant Menus Use
Read · mentalfloss.com · Issue #17
Jessica Hullinger's 2016 Mental Floss article explains how restaurants design menus to steer what diners order.
Summary
Jessica Hullinger's 2016 Mental Floss article explains how restaurants design menus to steer what diners order. Tactics include limiting items to about seven per category, adding photos, dropping dollar signs from prices, placing expensive items near the top as decoys, and using descriptive language and nostalgic names such as Grandma's Chicken Soup. Several points cite studies, including a Cornell study on descriptions.
12 Simple Memory Exercises You Can Do Almost Anywhere
Read · pickthebrain.com · Issue #16
Pick the Brain argues that a sharp memory helps at work, in school, and in daily life, and lists 12 exercises that need no special equipment.
Summary
Pick the Brain argues that a sharp memory helps at work, in school, and in daily life, and lists 12 exercises that need no special equipment. Examples include mental math for store bills, rhyming games, recalling details before meeting someone, retelling old stories, and picturing the route home from memory. Mental imagery, which turns new words into pictures, is presented as aiding recall.
Our best skills fade from our attention
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #12
Once a skill becomes habit, we stop thinking about it and move to new problems
Summary
We stop noticing our best skill once it becomes habit, and others value the very quality we take for granted.
The speaker argues that people are wired to stop noticing what they are best at, because skills that become habits fade from attention. People also form their sense of value by comparing themselves with others, so others tend to value the very strengths we overlook. The speaker concludes that the best part of you lies in the skills you are built for, not the ones you struggle with.
Key points- Once a skill becomes habit, we stop thinking about it and move to new problems
- We build our value systems by comparing what we lack with what others have
- The quality people value in you is often the one you already have
Regret is a poison
Short · tiktok.com · Issue #4
A short TikTok with the message that regret is poison.
Summary
A short TikTok with the message that regret is poison.
Mental Models: A Guide to About 100 Thinking Tools
Read · fs.blog · Issue #3
A Farnam Street guide to mental models, defined as simplified explanations of how something works that help people decide better and spot opportunities.
Summary
A Farnam Street guide to mental models, defined as simplified explanations of how something works that help people decide better and spot opportunities. It covers about 100 models grouped by discipline, including circle of competence, first principles, second-order thinking, inversion, and margin of safety. Each entry has a short explanation with examples from business, personal life, and science.
Related reading paths
- Learn faster, remember more10
- Power, persuasion and office politics10
- Think clearly10
- Dating and relationships8
- How the brain works10
- Handle hard conversations9