Jam experment
In 2000, psychologists Iyengar, Jiang and Huberman introduced two hypotheses:
1. The wider the variety of assortment, the easier it is for customers to make a choice. When there are many options, they feel more confident that they have found the best option.
2. However, too many options can lead to “choice overload” (choice overload). In such a situation, the motivation of making a decision weakens. In other words, when a person sees more options, it attracts his attention better, but in the final he may not make a choice at all.
These behaviors of customers are perfectly illustrated by the well-known “experiment with jam”. In one of California grocery stores, researchers installed two tasting racks with jams of exotic varieties. For the first time the researches proposed trying 6 kinds of jam to the people. For the second there were 24 kind of jams.
Researchers were interested in two points: the number of people who showed interest in the racks, and the number of purchases that were made after the tasting.
As a result, a rack with 24 varieties of jam attracted 150% more tasters than the second one. Nevertheless, the opposite situation happened with shopping. 30% of people who tried 6 kinds of jam made purchases. Only 3% of people who chose from 24 varieties bought jams.
The experiment shows us that people tend to have high-expectations of the product, but in the end, this reduces the motivation to purchase. Part of this behavior is due to the so-called "cognitive load" on the human memory.
Excessive number of options leads to the fact that customers are simply lost. It is difficult for them to objectively compare the options and choose the best among them. Most people would prefer to refuse the choice altogether and go on.
In the experiment with jam it happened. The more options, the higher the risk of making a mistake with the choice.
Original article - Link
#psychology
In 2000, psychologists Iyengar, Jiang and Huberman introduced two hypotheses:
1. The wider the variety of assortment, the easier it is for customers to make a choice. When there are many options, they feel more confident that they have found the best option.
2. However, too many options can lead to “choice overload” (choice overload). In such a situation, the motivation of making a decision weakens. In other words, when a person sees more options, it attracts his attention better, but in the final he may not make a choice at all.
These behaviors of customers are perfectly illustrated by the well-known “experiment with jam”. In one of California grocery stores, researchers installed two tasting racks with jams of exotic varieties. For the first time the researches proposed trying 6 kinds of jam to the people. For the second there were 24 kind of jams.
Researchers were interested in two points: the number of people who showed interest in the racks, and the number of purchases that were made after the tasting.
As a result, a rack with 24 varieties of jam attracted 150% more tasters than the second one. Nevertheless, the opposite situation happened with shopping. 30% of people who tried 6 kinds of jam made purchases. Only 3% of people who chose from 24 varieties bought jams.
The experiment shows us that people tend to have high-expectations of the product, but in the end, this reduces the motivation to purchase. Part of this behavior is due to the so-called "cognitive load" on the human memory.
Excessive number of options leads to the fact that customers are simply lost. It is difficult for them to objectively compare the options and choose the best among them. Most people would prefer to refuse the choice altogether and go on.
In the experiment with jam it happened. The more options, the higher the risk of making a mistake with the choice.
Original article - Link
#psychology
Planning fallacy
It is a cognitive distortion associated with optimism and underestimation of the time required to complete tasks. No matter what was planned, it takes longer to complete it than you expected.
In a 1994 study, 37 psychology students were asked to estimate how long it would take to complete their diplomas project. The average estimate was 33.9 days. The average actual turnaround time was 55.5 days; only about 30% of the students completed their work in the time they predicted.
Why is this happening?
- People focus on the most optimistic scenario, and do not fully use the experience of performing similar tasks.
- People think that the task will be completed quickly and easily, because that is what they want
- People do not always correctly remember the amount of time taken for similar tasks in the past
- People do not take into account unforeseen circumstances and new tasks that may appear in the process of performing
Original research - Link
It is a cognitive distortion associated with optimism and underestimation of the time required to complete tasks. No matter what was planned, it takes longer to complete it than you expected.
In a 1994 study, 37 psychology students were asked to estimate how long it would take to complete their diplomas project. The average estimate was 33.9 days. The average actual turnaround time was 55.5 days; only about 30% of the students completed their work in the time they predicted.
Why is this happening?
- People focus on the most optimistic scenario, and do not fully use the experience of performing similar tasks.
- People think that the task will be completed quickly and easily, because that is what they want
- People do not always correctly remember the amount of time taken for similar tasks in the past
- People do not take into account unforeseen circumstances and new tasks that may appear in the process of performing
Original research - Link
The work takes all the time allotted to it
This rule is also called first Parkinson's Law. The law can be generalized further as: work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.
The simplified meaning of this rule: "If you wait till the last minute, it only takes a minute to do" or "how much time you will set for doing the work so much time you will do this work".
For example, if a student knows that he has a month to write a diploma, then the whole process of writing will take him a month, because there will always be reasons why he will postpone the completion of the case.
To use this rule to your hand you need to know what to do, when to do it and how much time do you need to spend for it. Task list and time-boxing can help you to accompish that.
Original article - Link
#timemanagement
This rule is also called first Parkinson's Law. The law can be generalized further as: work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.
The simplified meaning of this rule: "If you wait till the last minute, it only takes a minute to do" or "how much time you will set for doing the work so much time you will do this work".
For example, if a student knows that he has a month to write a diploma, then the whole process of writing will take him a month, because there will always be reasons why he will postpone the completion of the case.
To use this rule to your hand you need to know what to do, when to do it and how much time do you need to spend for it. Task list and time-boxing can help you to accompish that.
Original article - Link
#timemanagement
Dr. Fox effect
Phenomenon which describes that with a help of a well-made, organized and beautifully written text people can persuade themselfs that they are learning something from it. It's like faking the feeling of studying.
Process
Several first course students were invited to listen to the Doctor Fox lecture. He was a hired actor. It was said that he has published 2 books and has several trophies. When he was perfoming, he used a lot of abstruse terms to obscure the meaning of the lecture. It was just a big mix of unrelated things, but the way it was said made students agree and enjoy the lecture.
Result
Even though students didn't understand anything and didn't learn anything from this lecture, most of them gave positive feedback about it. In addition, they invited last course students who were specializing on game theory and they did lecture about it. Nevertheless, students still liked it and gave positive feedback. However, they understood that it was fake one, but they really liked the way it was proposed.
Conclusion
As we can see, it doesn't really matter what people hear, the only things that matters is the way it proposed. In this experiment, "professor" said absolutely random and unconnected terms and no one even had noticed that.
Original research: Link
#psychology
Phenomenon which describes that with a help of a well-made, organized and beautifully written text people can persuade themselfs that they are learning something from it. It's like faking the feeling of studying.
Process
Several first course students were invited to listen to the Doctor Fox lecture. He was a hired actor. It was said that he has published 2 books and has several trophies. When he was perfoming, he used a lot of abstruse terms to obscure the meaning of the lecture. It was just a big mix of unrelated things, but the way it was said made students agree and enjoy the lecture.
Result
Even though students didn't understand anything and didn't learn anything from this lecture, most of them gave positive feedback about it. In addition, they invited last course students who were specializing on game theory and they did lecture about it. Nevertheless, students still liked it and gave positive feedback. However, they understood that it was fake one, but they really liked the way it was proposed.
Conclusion
As we can see, it doesn't really matter what people hear, the only things that matters is the way it proposed. In this experiment, "professor" said absolutely random and unconnected terms and no one even had noticed that.
Original research: Link
#psychology
Bobo doll experiment
This experiment shows the influence of adult behavior on children`s behavior.
Process
Children (boys and girls) were devided into 4 different groups. First 2 groups had adults with agressive behavoir with the same and opposite gender. Second 2 had adults with a model of non-agressive behavoir with the same and opposite gender.
At the beginning, organizers put 2 groups in the room with the agressive model of behaviour. A child and an adult were put in each room. Adults had their own toys - Bobo doll - this doll always stands so you can punch it without putting it up non limited times(look at the picture below) and children had some other toys. In 2 minutes, while children were playing, adults started to act agressive towards the Bobo doll. They kicked, toss and screamed at the toy. After several minutes children were put into different rooms.
In the second room, non-agressive adults played with different toys except Bobo doll. Organizers said to the children that they could play with any toy they wanted and do whatever they want. Children played with toys, but in several minutes organizers came back and said that they had to take all the toys to the other child. That was done to make children angry and see how behaviour from the first room will affect them. However, they told them that they could play with toys in the previous room.
When children came back to the first room, some of them started to imitate the agressive model of behaviour.
Result
A percent of children that at first were put in the room with agressive model of behaviour, eventually showed higher result towards the agressive behaviour. They kicked and screamed at the Bobo doll just like adults. However, children who were put with the opposite gender had lower results of acting agressive. Boys had higher average number of agressive acts than the girls.
Conclusion
Children tend to imitate adults behaviour no matter what they have done. The only factors their behavoiur depends on are circumstances, gender and they way it all was proposed.
More information: Link
This experiment shows the influence of adult behavior on children`s behavior.
Process
Children (boys and girls) were devided into 4 different groups. First 2 groups had adults with agressive behavoir with the same and opposite gender. Second 2 had adults with a model of non-agressive behavoir with the same and opposite gender.
At the beginning, organizers put 2 groups in the room with the agressive model of behaviour. A child and an adult were put in each room. Adults had their own toys - Bobo doll - this doll always stands so you can punch it without putting it up non limited times(look at the picture below) and children had some other toys. In 2 minutes, while children were playing, adults started to act agressive towards the Bobo doll. They kicked, toss and screamed at the toy. After several minutes children were put into different rooms.
In the second room, non-agressive adults played with different toys except Bobo doll. Organizers said to the children that they could play with any toy they wanted and do whatever they want. Children played with toys, but in several minutes organizers came back and said that they had to take all the toys to the other child. That was done to make children angry and see how behaviour from the first room will affect them. However, they told them that they could play with toys in the previous room.
When children came back to the first room, some of them started to imitate the agressive model of behaviour.
Result
A percent of children that at first were put in the room with agressive model of behaviour, eventually showed higher result towards the agressive behaviour. They kicked and screamed at the Bobo doll just like adults. However, children who were put with the opposite gender had lower results of acting agressive. Boys had higher average number of agressive acts than the girls.
Conclusion
Children tend to imitate adults behaviour no matter what they have done. The only factors their behavoiur depends on are circumstances, gender and they way it all was proposed.
More information: Link
Abilene paradox
It describes the situation in which every participant don't want to tell their opinion about something, because they think of it as something unpleasant and unacceptable in this group of people.
Eventually it turns out that people had the same opinion just like that person at the beginning.
Example
Members of the family (Father, mother, grandma, aunt) were sitting in the living room and were doing nothing. Then, mother offered to go to the different town for a trip. Father didn't really want to do it, but he thought that everyone liked that idea, so he said that it would be great to go there. The same thing happened with aunt. She felt kind of tired, but she thought:" If everyone is so optimistic about it, why shouldn`t we go". Thus she agreed to go there. Grandma thought the same way.
Trip was boring. Nobody liked it. It was really hot. There was no enough space in the car. The food was awful. Nevertheless, when they came back father said:" I hope everyone liked the trip, because i went there just because of you". Mother said the same thing. Grandpa said:" I went there just because everyone wanted, so i agreed to go with you, but you have to be crazy to go there alone". Aunt also said the same thing just the others.
Result
As we can see, in the end a group of people wasn't happy about what they did, because they were sared of giving wrong opinion about the idea of going somewhere, even though everybody thought the same way.
Original research: Link
It describes the situation in which every participant don't want to tell their opinion about something, because they think of it as something unpleasant and unacceptable in this group of people.
Eventually it turns out that people had the same opinion just like that person at the beginning.
Example
Members of the family (Father, mother, grandma, aunt) were sitting in the living room and were doing nothing. Then, mother offered to go to the different town for a trip. Father didn't really want to do it, but he thought that everyone liked that idea, so he said that it would be great to go there. The same thing happened with aunt. She felt kind of tired, but she thought:" If everyone is so optimistic about it, why shouldn`t we go". Thus she agreed to go there. Grandma thought the same way.
Trip was boring. Nobody liked it. It was really hot. There was no enough space in the car. The food was awful. Nevertheless, when they came back father said:" I hope everyone liked the trip, because i went there just because of you". Mother said the same thing. Grandpa said:" I went there just because everyone wanted, so i agreed to go with you, but you have to be crazy to go there alone". Aunt also said the same thing just the others.
Result
As we can see, in the end a group of people wasn't happy about what they did, because they were sared of giving wrong opinion about the idea of going somewhere, even though everybody thought the same way.
Original research: Link
Antifragility
The concept introduced by Nassim Taleb in the book “Anti-Fragile" that means the ability to take advantage of failures, losses, mistakes; the ability to harden, grow and become stronger while be confronted with chaos.
Anti-fragility is diametrically opposed to the concepts of invulnerability, flexibility and elasticity. Invulnerability and flexibility - the ability to resist, to resist stress and to act as a shield. Anti-fragility is the ability to benefit from stressful situations and changes. If there is a problem, invulnerability reflects and remains the same. Anti-frailty benefits from the problem and changes for the better.
The absence of stressful situations is harmful. Sooner or later, trouble can happen to every object (person, company, etc.) and they will not be ready for it. The presence of minor stressors helps to achieve anti-fragility. People need to experience some kind of (not too much) stress in order to wake up to activity.
The author of the book proposes not to try to assess, or predict risk; instead, it is much more useful to focus on determining the fragility of an object. For this, he introduces a triad: fragile, invulnerable, anti-fragile. Through the prism of this triad, you can analyze any objects.
For example, a manager in a corporation is fragile because the corporation can fail, the manager can be fired or replaced by another person and this will not depend on him. The doctor is invulnerable, because people always need to treat their teeth, but the same can happen to him as to the manager, and his salary depends on the state or on the clinic where he works. The taxi driver is anti-fragile because he works on himself, works as much as he needs, knowing that people in the city will always take a taxi. All his actions lie on his shoulders and it is easier for him to change.
Book - Link
#books #selfImprovement
The concept introduced by Nassim Taleb in the book “Anti-Fragile" that means the ability to take advantage of failures, losses, mistakes; the ability to harden, grow and become stronger while be confronted with chaos.
Anti-fragility is diametrically opposed to the concepts of invulnerability, flexibility and elasticity. Invulnerability and flexibility - the ability to resist, to resist stress and to act as a shield. Anti-fragility is the ability to benefit from stressful situations and changes. If there is a problem, invulnerability reflects and remains the same. Anti-frailty benefits from the problem and changes for the better.
The absence of stressful situations is harmful. Sooner or later, trouble can happen to every object (person, company, etc.) and they will not be ready for it. The presence of minor stressors helps to achieve anti-fragility. People need to experience some kind of (not too much) stress in order to wake up to activity.
The author of the book proposes not to try to assess, or predict risk; instead, it is much more useful to focus on determining the fragility of an object. For this, he introduces a triad: fragile, invulnerable, anti-fragile. Through the prism of this triad, you can analyze any objects.
For example, a manager in a corporation is fragile because the corporation can fail, the manager can be fired or replaced by another person and this will not depend on him. The doctor is invulnerable, because people always need to treat their teeth, but the same can happen to him as to the manager, and his salary depends on the state or on the clinic where he works. The taxi driver is anti-fragile because he works on himself, works as much as he needs, knowing that people in the city will always take a taxi. All his actions lie on his shoulders and it is easier for him to change.
Book - Link
#books #selfImprovement
🎉 Happy New Year 🎉
Let this year be more productive and better than the previous one for you. Set goals and achieve them. Develop yourself constantly, be the better version of yourself. Live with pleasure and be happy!
Let this year be more productive and better than the previous one for you. Set goals and achieve them. Develop yourself constantly, be the better version of yourself. Live with pleasure and be happy!
Use external memory
Today we deal with a lot of information, and we can't remember everything. We need to adapt in order to keep track of everything and remember it.
Remember, where you can find information
It's not essential to remember all information. For example, you don't have to remember everyone's birthday, because you can find it in social networks.
You don't have to remember ideas, instead, you can just write them in notebook programms Evernote. Ideas for posts I save in google documents, uncompleted posts I keep in telegram "saved messages:. If i need exact information about something, I can find it in the right "stock".
Information can be anywhere - Internet, programs, notepads. The most important thing is that it should be easy to find and convinient for you.
Create a hierarchy and connections in it
Our brain loves hierarchy and we like when everything is in the right order. It's something like a bookshelf - if we want to read a novel, then we take it on one shelf, and if a detective story - on another.
For example, you have 3 business meetings. The time of those meetings you write in the calendar, aims - in notes and then to remember everything you look in the calendar and then in notes.
#memory
Today we deal with a lot of information, and we can't remember everything. We need to adapt in order to keep track of everything and remember it.
Remember, where you can find information
It's not essential to remember all information. For example, you don't have to remember everyone's birthday, because you can find it in social networks.
You don't have to remember ideas, instead, you can just write them in notebook programms Evernote. Ideas for posts I save in google documents, uncompleted posts I keep in telegram "saved messages:. If i need exact information about something, I can find it in the right "stock".
Information can be anywhere - Internet, programs, notepads. The most important thing is that it should be easy to find and convinient for you.
Create a hierarchy and connections in it
Our brain loves hierarchy and we like when everything is in the right order. It's something like a bookshelf - if we want to read a novel, then we take it on one shelf, and if a detective story - on another.
For example, you have 3 business meetings. The time of those meetings you write in the calendar, aims - in notes and then to remember everything you look in the calendar and then in notes.
#memory
How to generate ideas
Here are some tips from Kevin Daum - Inc. 500 entrepreneur and best-selling author.
Observe the world
Great ideas won't happen in a vacuum. You need to find the way to make your brain think in new and creative directions. You should determine time for special sessions where you stimulate your brain into thinking differently. A simple walk through the city can introduce you to exciting activities and different behaviors that makes you think about something new. Any crowded urban area, mall or zoo may influence on you the similary.
Meet and talk with new people
Hanging around with the same friends and colleagues can get you in a thinking routine. Speak with strangers, random people at cafe, parks etc. New people don't know all your thought patterns and old stories, so you're like a blank paper for them.
Read More Books
Books are wonderful for creating new thoughts and stimulating great ideas. Stories in books will get you out of daily headspace and activate your idea generator. Even if you don't have time for a novel, go hunt down a bookstore and spend an hour browsing. You'll find plenty of thought stimulations.
Randomly Surf the Web
Google is great when you know what you are looking for, but the best way to generate new ideas is unexpected learning. Take an hour each week and go on a web journey. Start with the I'm "Feeling Lucky" button and just take it(что it?) from there.
Meditate
It's hard to come up with great ideas when your mind is full of everyday thoughts and concerns. You need quiet space. Meditation will help you clear your mind from daily business and stress. Then you can quietly focus on your future or solving world issues. Do to two hour-long sessions every week and soon you'll find new ideas flowing.
All of these methods require a commitment of time and energy, but that's the key to great ideas. You need to give your brain time and space to work on you. Aftet trying each of these methods, you are bound to come up with a great idea or two. Make sure you record them and set a plan of accountability. The execution is up to you.
Original article: Link
#brain
Here are some tips from Kevin Daum - Inc. 500 entrepreneur and best-selling author.
Observe the world
Great ideas won't happen in a vacuum. You need to find the way to make your brain think in new and creative directions. You should determine time for special sessions where you stimulate your brain into thinking differently. A simple walk through the city can introduce you to exciting activities and different behaviors that makes you think about something new. Any crowded urban area, mall or zoo may influence on you the similary.
Meet and talk with new people
Hanging around with the same friends and colleagues can get you in a thinking routine. Speak with strangers, random people at cafe, parks etc. New people don't know all your thought patterns and old stories, so you're like a blank paper for them.
Read More Books
Books are wonderful for creating new thoughts and stimulating great ideas. Stories in books will get you out of daily headspace and activate your idea generator. Even if you don't have time for a novel, go hunt down a bookstore and spend an hour browsing. You'll find plenty of thought stimulations.
Randomly Surf the Web
Google is great when you know what you are looking for, but the best way to generate new ideas is unexpected learning. Take an hour each week and go on a web journey. Start with the I'm "Feeling Lucky" button and just take it(что it?) from there.
Meditate
It's hard to come up with great ideas when your mind is full of everyday thoughts and concerns. You need quiet space. Meditation will help you clear your mind from daily business and stress. Then you can quietly focus on your future or solving world issues. Do to two hour-long sessions every week and soon you'll find new ideas flowing.
All of these methods require a commitment of time and energy, but that's the key to great ideas. You need to give your brain time and space to work on you. Aftet trying each of these methods, you are bound to come up with a great idea or two. Make sure you record them and set a plan of accountability. The execution is up to you.
Original article: Link
#brain
Buridan's ass
A paradox which describes how external factors influence on our decisions. For example, we'd prefer to buy yogurt with attractive package than the same yogurt with less attractive one.
Paradox
It refers to the situations where a donkey is given 2 similar piles of hay and put between them. The distances from piles to the donkey are the same and piles are the same size, color and weight. They are just identical. The problems is that the donkey can not decide which pile he wants to eat, as a result, he'll starve to death.
Why does this happen?
This happens because the donkey do not have any reasons to choose one of them. It will be just thinking about why one of the piles is better than the other one. Since piles are identical the donkey won't make any decision and eventually die.
Result
Of course, if we were in the same situation as the donkey, we wouldn't die of starving, but it perfectly shows this paradox's concept. Comparing with people, this paradox shows us how our choice depends on external conditions, for example, talking about food it's smell, taste, form etc. If it's given 2 cakes, but one of them has a cherry on the top, even it doesn't really change the taste, we're more likely to take this cake.
Original research: Link
#psychology
A paradox which describes how external factors influence on our decisions. For example, we'd prefer to buy yogurt with attractive package than the same yogurt with less attractive one.
Paradox
It refers to the situations where a donkey is given 2 similar piles of hay and put between them. The distances from piles to the donkey are the same and piles are the same size, color and weight. They are just identical. The problems is that the donkey can not decide which pile he wants to eat, as a result, he'll starve to death.
Why does this happen?
This happens because the donkey do not have any reasons to choose one of them. It will be just thinking about why one of the piles is better than the other one. Since piles are identical the donkey won't make any decision and eventually die.
Result
Of course, if we were in the same situation as the donkey, we wouldn't die of starving, but it perfectly shows this paradox's concept. Comparing with people, this paradox shows us how our choice depends on external conditions, for example, talking about food it's smell, taste, form etc. If it's given 2 cakes, but one of them has a cherry on the top, even it doesn't really change the taste, we're more likely to take this cake.
Original research: Link
#psychology
Learned helplessness
It's a state in which a person does not try to influence on the situation, even when he can do it.
Experiment
This phenomenon was discovered by American psychologist Martin Seligman in 1967 in a series of studies.
In the experiment Seligman participated three groups of dogs and each of them was placed in different cages. Animals from the first and the second groups received a light discharge of current through the floor, and the third one - the control group did not. The first group could turn off the current by pressing the button inside the cell. The second had no options: electric shocks stopped only when the dogs from the first group pressed the button.
Later, all the subjects were put in boxes with a partition, which can be easily jumped over(look at the picture below). Animals received electric shocks, and to avoid discomfort, they just had to jump to the other side.
Result
The dogs from the first and third groups quickly figured out what needs to be done and moved to a safe area.The dogs from the second group remained where they were shocked, whined, but did not even try to escape.
Conclusion
Seligman suggested that the dogs might not try to avoid an electric shock because during the experiment they tried to avoid it several times , but since it did not work out, they got used to its inevitability. In other words, the dogs "learned helplessness".
Later, other psychologists conducted a similar experiment in humans and the phenomenon of learned helplessness also worked .
How to get rid of the feeling of helplessness will be written in the next post.
Original source: Link
#experiments #psychology
It's a state in which a person does not try to influence on the situation, even when he can do it.
Experiment
This phenomenon was discovered by American psychologist Martin Seligman in 1967 in a series of studies.
In the experiment Seligman participated three groups of dogs and each of them was placed in different cages. Animals from the first and the second groups received a light discharge of current through the floor, and the third one - the control group did not. The first group could turn off the current by pressing the button inside the cell. The second had no options: electric shocks stopped only when the dogs from the first group pressed the button.
Later, all the subjects were put in boxes with a partition, which can be easily jumped over(look at the picture below). Animals received electric shocks, and to avoid discomfort, they just had to jump to the other side.
Result
The dogs from the first and third groups quickly figured out what needs to be done and moved to a safe area.The dogs from the second group remained where they were shocked, whined, but did not even try to escape.
Conclusion
Seligman suggested that the dogs might not try to avoid an electric shock because during the experiment they tried to avoid it several times , but since it did not work out, they got used to its inevitability. In other words, the dogs "learned helplessness".
Later, other psychologists conducted a similar experiment in humans and the phenomenon of learned helplessness also worked .
How to get rid of the feeling of helplessness will be written in the next post.
Original source: Link
#experiments #psychology
Friendship paradox
Friendship paradox describes statement what says that your friends have more friends than you.
Reason
It's very simple: the more a person has friends, the bigger chance that he'll be observed in one's own friends.
Research
Many researches were conducted, and results show that it was true for 98% of Twitter users and more than 90% of Facebook.
Example
Your friend wants to check how popular he is. He goes to your friends list and sees that your friends have more friend than he has. Even though it sounds complex, it's really easy. If a person is not popular, there are more chances to find him in different friends lists. If a person is not that popular, he has less chances to be noticed in those lists.
There are just less chances to see unpopular people in friends lists, thus you only see popular people who have a lot friends.
Original research: Link
#psychology #paradox
Friendship paradox describes statement what says that your friends have more friends than you.
Reason
It's very simple: the more a person has friends, the bigger chance that he'll be observed in one's own friends.
Research
Many researches were conducted, and results show that it was true for 98% of Twitter users and more than 90% of Facebook.
Example
Your friend wants to check how popular he is. He goes to your friends list and sees that your friends have more friend than he has. Even though it sounds complex, it's really easy. If a person is not popular, there are more chances to find him in different friends lists. If a person is not that popular, he has less chances to be noticed in those lists.
There are just less chances to see unpopular people in friends lists, thus you only see popular people who have a lot friends.
Original research: Link
#psychology #paradox
How to overcome Learned Helplessness
When a person feel that he has no control on situation, he may begin to behave in a helpless manner. It's called learned helplessness. Person with learned helplessness usually has difficulties with setting goals, overcoming difficulties, achieving success and starting the action. Nevertheless learned helplessness can be overcomed.
Don't say weak words
Don't say these words: I can't, I don't want, everything is useless, I've never done that, I'm always late/I always forget etc.
Behind all these words lies disbelief in one's own strength, anxiety and fear of failure, the lack of a positive outlook and disbelief that other options for solution may exist and be applied.
Take small steps
Set the small aim which is easy to achieve. You will be proud of yourself and can go further. When small aim will be done, it will be easier for you to set bigger goals and accomplish them.
Don't blame yourself
Most of bad things happened not because of your fault. And if it's your fault that doesn't mean that you need to stop doing anything - for example, Donald Trump was bankcrupt 4 times and after those didn't give up.
Think under another angle
In the experiment the dogs didn't try to avoid an electric shock because during the experiment they tried to avoid it several times , but since it did not work out, they stopped. If dogs thought about solutions, for example, that they can try to jump over or break the walls, it could work out for them. Same for people: sometimes you just need stop and thing about different possibilities and options.
Motivation and optimism
It's always a good booster for you to start. Objects from which people get motivation are very different and you need to find one for yourself. I usually get motivation from famous people who accomplished big goals.
#psychology #motivation
When a person feel that he has no control on situation, he may begin to behave in a helpless manner. It's called learned helplessness. Person with learned helplessness usually has difficulties with setting goals, overcoming difficulties, achieving success and starting the action. Nevertheless learned helplessness can be overcomed.
Don't say weak words
Don't say these words: I can't, I don't want, everything is useless, I've never done that, I'm always late/I always forget etc.
Behind all these words lies disbelief in one's own strength, anxiety and fear of failure, the lack of a positive outlook and disbelief that other options for solution may exist and be applied.
Take small steps
Set the small aim which is easy to achieve. You will be proud of yourself and can go further. When small aim will be done, it will be easier for you to set bigger goals and accomplish them.
Don't blame yourself
Most of bad things happened not because of your fault. And if it's your fault that doesn't mean that you need to stop doing anything - for example, Donald Trump was bankcrupt 4 times and after those didn't give up.
Think under another angle
In the experiment the dogs didn't try to avoid an electric shock because during the experiment they tried to avoid it several times , but since it did not work out, they stopped. If dogs thought about solutions, for example, that they can try to jump over or break the walls, it could work out for them. Same for people: sometimes you just need stop and thing about different possibilities and options.
Motivation and optimism
It's always a good booster for you to start. Objects from which people get motivation are very different and you need to find one for yourself. I usually get motivation from famous people who accomplished big goals.
#psychology #motivation
ABCDE method
It's a method for setting priorities. Determine your major goals or objectives in your task list(I wrote about how to do that in part 1 and part 2). Mark each of your task on your list with one letter - A/B/C/D/E before you begin.
A stands for “very important;” something you must do. There can be serious negative consequences if you don’t do it.
B stands for “important;” something you should do. This is not as important as your ‘A’ tasks. There are only minor negative consequences if it is not completed.
C stands for things that are “nice to do;” but which are not as important as ‘A’ or ‘B,’ tasks. There are no negative consequences for not completing it.
D stands for “delegate.” You can assign this task to someone else who can do the job instead of you.
E stands for “eliminate, whenever possible.” You should eliminate every single activity you possibly can, to free up your time.
Conclusion
When you use the A-B-C-D-E method, you can very easily sort out what is important and unimportant. It will focus your time and attention on those items on your list that are most essential for you to do.
Original source of author: Link
#management #productivity
It's a method for setting priorities. Determine your major goals or objectives in your task list(I wrote about how to do that in part 1 and part 2). Mark each of your task on your list with one letter - A/B/C/D/E before you begin.
A stands for “very important;” something you must do. There can be serious negative consequences if you don’t do it.
B stands for “important;” something you should do. This is not as important as your ‘A’ tasks. There are only minor negative consequences if it is not completed.
C stands for things that are “nice to do;” but which are not as important as ‘A’ or ‘B,’ tasks. There are no negative consequences for not completing it.
D stands for “delegate.” You can assign this task to someone else who can do the job instead of you.
E stands for “eliminate, whenever possible.” You should eliminate every single activity you possibly can, to free up your time.
Conclusion
When you use the A-B-C-D-E method, you can very easily sort out what is important and unimportant. It will focus your time and attention on those items on your list that are most essential for you to do.
Original source of author: Link
#management #productivity
Forgetting curve
The forgetting curve hypothesizes decrease in memory retention over time. This curve shows how information is getting lost over time, when no attempts were made to save it.
Experiment
The experiment conducted by Ebbingauz included a method of memorizing meaningless syllables which included two consonants and a vowel between them, not causing any semantic associations, that shows us that people were taught absolutely new information.
During the experiments, it was found that after the first unmistakable repetition of a series of such syllables, forgetting occurs very quickly at first: up to 60% of the information received is forgotten within the first hour, 10 hours after memorizing 35% of the studied one remains in memory. After 6 days, about 20% of the total number of originally learned syllables remain in memory. The same amount remains in memory after a month.
Conclusion
Conclusions based on this curve shows us that for effective memorization it is necessary to repeat the memorized material.
To memorize well, you need to use the phenomenon of rational repetition:
If you have two days:
1) The first repetition - immediately after reading;
2) The second repetition - 20 minutes after the first repetition;
3) The third repetition - 8 hours after the second;
4) The fourth repetition - 24 hours after the third.
If you need to remember for a very long time:
1) The first repetition - immediately after reading;
2) The second repetition - 20-30 minutes after the first repetition;
3) The third repetition - 1 day after the second;
4) The fourth repetition - 2-3 weeks after the third;
5) The fifth repetition is 2-3 months after the fourth repetition.
Original source: Link
Wikipedia article: Link
#brain #memory
The forgetting curve hypothesizes decrease in memory retention over time. This curve shows how information is getting lost over time, when no attempts were made to save it.
Experiment
The experiment conducted by Ebbingauz included a method of memorizing meaningless syllables which included two consonants and a vowel between them, not causing any semantic associations, that shows us that people were taught absolutely new information.
During the experiments, it was found that after the first unmistakable repetition of a series of such syllables, forgetting occurs very quickly at first: up to 60% of the information received is forgotten within the first hour, 10 hours after memorizing 35% of the studied one remains in memory. After 6 days, about 20% of the total number of originally learned syllables remain in memory. The same amount remains in memory after a month.
Conclusion
Conclusions based on this curve shows us that for effective memorization it is necessary to repeat the memorized material.
To memorize well, you need to use the phenomenon of rational repetition:
If you have two days:
1) The first repetition - immediately after reading;
2) The second repetition - 20 minutes after the first repetition;
3) The third repetition - 8 hours after the second;
4) The fourth repetition - 24 hours after the third.
If you need to remember for a very long time:
1) The first repetition - immediately after reading;
2) The second repetition - 20-30 minutes after the first repetition;
3) The third repetition - 1 day after the second;
4) The fourth repetition - 2-3 weeks after the third;
5) The fifth repetition is 2-3 months after the fourth repetition.
Original source: Link
Wikipedia article: Link
#brain #memory
Things we think we are doing right, but not actually
People tend to make mistakes and there's nothing wrong about it. Moreover, sometimes we think that we're doing everything perfect, but in reality some things that you find obvious and easy to understand give you wrong glimpse about how certain things should be done.
The more effort you make to impress people, the less impressed they are
When you're trying to hard to impress people, you are likely to show your true self. Most people can not control this process, so people will find you insincere and get bored later on.
The harder you try to achieve your goal, the harder it will be to get it
People really like to think about things as something really unreachable and difficult. The less you think about the solving process, the faster you will do it. It's not something that is really hard to do, it's just quiet complicated trick that our brain likes to do with us, because every negative thought gives you unnesecessary details on which we spend a lot of focus which we're lacking pf indeed.
The more small talks you do on the Internet, the more useless your conversations are
Having thousands of aquantiances online has really good outlook. Nevertheless, benefit that you can get from those "friends" is pretty low. Rather than talking with 15 people at the same time without any progress in conversation, you can talk just with a couple of people, thus you'll be more into conversation and get some useful information or maybe a future business partner.
More information about why we do a lot of things wrong you can find here: Link
#psychology #brain
People tend to make mistakes and there's nothing wrong about it. Moreover, sometimes we think that we're doing everything perfect, but in reality some things that you find obvious and easy to understand give you wrong glimpse about how certain things should be done.
The more effort you make to impress people, the less impressed they are
When you're trying to hard to impress people, you are likely to show your true self. Most people can not control this process, so people will find you insincere and get bored later on.
The harder you try to achieve your goal, the harder it will be to get it
People really like to think about things as something really unreachable and difficult. The less you think about the solving process, the faster you will do it. It's not something that is really hard to do, it's just quiet complicated trick that our brain likes to do with us, because every negative thought gives you unnesecessary details on which we spend a lot of focus which we're lacking pf indeed.
The more small talks you do on the Internet, the more useless your conversations are
Having thousands of aquantiances online has really good outlook. Nevertheless, benefit that you can get from those "friends" is pretty low. Rather than talking with 15 people at the same time without any progress in conversation, you can talk just with a couple of people, thus you'll be more into conversation and get some useful information or maybe a future business partner.
More information about why we do a lot of things wrong you can find here: Link
#psychology #brain
Positive thinking leads to bad result
Gabriele Oettingen conducted an experement after which, as a reslut, she claimed that positive thinking may effects us badly in planning future and achieving success.
Experiment
Students from all over the world who liked people who lived on a great distance from them were asked about what they thought about going with those people from different countries/cities. They also were asked about how they're going to overcome these difficulties.
Result
Eventually, almost no one got into a relationship. Their "positive" dreams about how they're going to spend, for example, their next weekend with their partners gave them some kind of satisfaction of a completed task. They didn't think about facing problems with travel or finding a job, for example.
Conclusion
If you want to achieve success, don't always think negatively or neutral, but always keep in mind difficulties that you're going to deal with and necessarily think about solutions to them. Thus you'll get more benefit
Gabriele Oettingen conducted an experement after which, as a reslut, she claimed that positive thinking may effects us badly in planning future and achieving success.
Experiment
Students from all over the world who liked people who lived on a great distance from them were asked about what they thought about going with those people from different countries/cities. They also were asked about how they're going to overcome these difficulties.
Result
Eventually, almost no one got into a relationship. Their "positive" dreams about how they're going to spend, for example, their next weekend with their partners gave them some kind of satisfaction of a completed task. They didn't think about facing problems with travel or finding a job, for example.
Conclusion
If you want to achieve success, don't always think negatively or neutral, but always keep in mind difficulties that you're going to deal with and necessarily think about solutions to them. Thus you'll get more benefit
If you`re interested in this topic you can book from Gabriele Oettingen who conducted the experiment: link