There are a lot of events happening in our life that are difficult to understand. Why do fortune-tellers accurately "predict" the future, while broken windows cause unrest in the city? Scientists have long deduced theories that explain why things are going on around, do not understand what. It turns out that people act according to the script and our behavior is easy to predict.
We have read a lot of books on psychology and today we will share with you the secret knowledge: all the accidents that happen to you are not accidental. And the strangest actions of people can be explained with the help of science.
1. The theory of broken windows
The criminological theory of broken windows was born in the minds of two American sociologists, Wilson and Kelling. Scientists have tried to figure out what caused the rise in crime in New York in the 80s. And we came to the conclusion: minor offenses (scattered garbage or graffiti) actively affect crime in general.
Real life example: If at least one window in a building is broken and not glazed, then passers-by decide that everyone around does not care and there are no people responsible for the mess. Soon, all windows in this building will be shattered, and the confidence of impunity will spread throughout the area. People will decide that even for more serious crimes they will not get anything ("If it is possible for others, then why not me?").
A fan of this theory, the Mayor of New York (1994) Rudolph Giuliani cut the crime rate by half. TPO can be applied everywhere: in international politics, at the state level, in your apartment and at work.
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2. The theory of learned helplessness
Learned helplessness is a behavior disorder in which a person does nothing to improve his life, although he has every opportunity for this. Why "learned"? Because nobody is born with the idea that it is useless to overcome obstacles. This thought appears after experiencing stress or a series of failures. Getting pokes and kicks from life time after time, people give up and believe that nothing depends on them.
Examples from life: A person has failed 2 attempts to enter a university, works hard for a meager salary, or cannot part with a toxic partner. From the outside, everything is easy and simple: learn the tickets for the exam, find another job, get a divorce - and the problems are over. But the one who is driven into helplessness does not see an easy way out and will endure pain.
What to do?
- Putting perfectionism aside - few things in life can be 100% perfect.
- Reducing expectations, including negative ones - the trouble has not yet occurred, and we are already afraid of it.
- Learn to be optimistic. Yes, there is such a thing as learned optimism, and it can be learned with a few exercises. Here is a test that will determine your level of cheerfulness.
3. The theory of reality tunnels
According to this theory, a person sees the world through the filters of his experience and beliefs. Upbringing, education, all the joys and failures that have ever happened to us - this is the building material for the tunnel of reality. And so people react to the same things in different ways.
An example from real life: Take the legendary painting by Leonardo da Vinci "La Gioconda". When looking at it, one person will notice a mysterious smile, another will notice mathematical perfection in it. Well, the third will see a fat woman without eyebrows. And none of this trinity is wrong - they all live in their tunnels and sincerely believe that they are right.
This is because, according to the tunnel theory, there is no single truth. And it cannot exist. Escaping your tunnel is difficult. It looks like a beaten path: comfortable and familiar.
4. The porcupine dilemma
People are made to be drawn to each other. Most of us need family and friends. However, intimate relationships are sometimes painful. The shortcomings of loved ones make us move away, leave. But after a while, we step on the same rake: again we seek intimacy and suffer from it.
The German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer called this phenomenon the porcupine dilemma. In his works, he cited the following parable:
The key to a happy relationship in love and friendship is the ability to give someone else enough warmth and at the same time maintain personal space. Do not tolerate needle pricks, but do not run away from close relationships. Maintain a reasonable distance in which you feel your own integrity.
5. Foot in the door
First, a person fulfills an insignificant request, and then finds himself in a trap: each time the demands become more impudent, and there is no strength to refuse. The “foot in the door” trick is used by marketers who want to sell you something.
Real life example: Service providers ask you: "Test the free version of our program" or "Subscribe to our service, 1 month subscription is free." The consumer hasn’t paid a dime yet, but he’s already caught: it’s easier for someone who has tried the free version to sell an extended subscription.
If a salesperson promises you a big discount or a product like "3 for 2", then he read a couple of books on psychology and "puts his foot in your door." He knows that you will come again and spend a large amount in his store.
6. The theory of creeping normality
People are able to accept the most monstrous changes in their lives calmly. Provided that these changes occur gradually, and not in one fell swoop.
Real life example: Residents of a metropolis are ready to endure smog and environmental degradation in the city, because they do not happen quickly and people have time to get used to the bad.
This theory is able to answer a lot of questions: from large-scale historical to quite ordinary everyday ones. Why did the people of Germany in the 1930s – 1940s not oppose the Nazi government with its concentration camps? Why do people live in psychoactive marriages? The answer is simple: they got used to it and resigned themselves, because the changes did not take place overnight. Their reality changed, but slowly, and eventually the abnormal became normal.
7. The theory of anonymous authority
According to this theory, people are not difficult to manipulate with "magic" words. Expressions like "according to scientists" or "experts say" that are not backed up by references to scientific research are easily taken for granted. We unconsciously listen to an anonymous authority - an expert or a scientist, which may not exist at all.
Real life example: Advertising of pills says that the effectiveness of the drug has been proven by scientists. The viewer has confidence in this statement - how can one not believe the scientists?
Don't trust impersonal information. There are phrases in advertisements, newspapers and the Internet that betray lies. Here are some of them.
- Phrases without a clear quantitative designation: "many scientists", "some people" (who are all these people?).
- Use of the passive voice: "is considered" (who is considered?).
- "Up to 100%" (how much is 2% or 99%?).
In any incomprehensible situation, demand proof. And believe only those who can provide them.
8. Self-fulfilling prophecy
Sometimes predictions do come true. True, there is not a drop of magic in this. The trick is to believe the prophecy and it will become real. Sometimes charlatans use this paradox successfully.
Real life example: A fortune-teller predicted to a man that in a day or two he would go to the hospital. An impressionable person walks down the street, immersed in unhappy thoughts about a possible illness, and does not look around. Our hero slips, flies to the sidewalk and ends up in the hospital with a sprained ankle. The fortune-teller's "prediction" came true, but not because she is a clairvoyant. The man unknowingly fulfilled the prophecy.
It is enough for a person to subconsciously believe in someone else's idea, and he will begin to generate thoughts that confirm this idea. Alas, other people's ideas are not very good. The trap of self-fulfilling prophecy can be escaped. To do this, you need to create your own positive attitudes.
9. Duckling syndrome
The hatched duckling takes the first moving object for its mother and follows on his heels. “Mom” can be a person, a dog, a goat, or even inanimate objects. Scientists call this behavior imprinting, and they also say that all people are also a little ducklings.
The psychological syndrome of a duckling is manifested in a person who, faced with a new area for him, begins to consider the object that first caught his eye as the best. And convincing such a "duckling" to try something new is difficult. And to prove that the new can be better than the old is almost impossible.
Real life example: "Paper books are better than electronic", "Mobile phones with buttons are more reliable than touchscreen" or "New design (no matter what) sucks" - typical phrases of a person with duckling syndrome.
This effect forces a person to be biased and not listen to the point of view of others. New things can be nice and comfortable.
Have you noticed how these psychological laws affect your life?