Researchers have conducted numerous studies to explore and investigate psychological effects in order to understand brain function and behaviors. And you, as an educated and self-aware individual, must understand how these phenomena manifest in your everyday life. It will help you to make more informed decisions, understand your feelings, and operate more consciously.
Every human being comes across these effects in their lifetime. We often think that we are showing these behaviors consciously. In reality, there are some set patterns in our brains and behavior that dictate these decisions.
So, if you are a researcher or a psychology student who wants to understand these phenomena, this brief guide will help you. You can hire affordable psychology assignment writing services to complete your assignments on time and with precision.
1. The Spotlight Effect – Overestimating Others’ Attention
It was introduced by Thomas Gilovich and Kenneth Savitsky. In simple words, the spotlight effect is about having social anxiety and thinking everyone is noticing our mistakes. It feels like having a spotlight on us all the time, and we tend to overestimate how much people think about us or talk about our mistakes.
Generally, it stems from being self-conscious too much. It can be so bad that it can affect our working efficiency and ability to move comfortably in social settings.
The spotlight effect, with social anxiety, can be really damaging because it affects confidence. When we constantly worry about people watching us all the time (which is not true – we only overthink), we over-analyze our every behaviour. Understanding the difference between social anxiety and the spotlight effect can make it easier to navigate the situation.
2.The Paradox Of Choice – Decision Stress
It was introduced by Barry Schwartz, a psychologist. The basic idea behind the paradox of choice is that with the growing modern world, we often become overwhelmed with the extensive list of options for everything.
When we have lots of choices, it can make our minds feel mixed up and make it hard to pick one thing. Your brain has to work harder to decide which one to pick. And sometimes, because your brain has to work so much, you might not feel happy with the choice you make.
You can see it in marketing, product design, and sales. Companies provide a range of product options, preventing customer overwhelm while ensuring ample variety. It aids in gaining a deep understanding of consumer behavior.
3. The Pygmalion Effect – High Expectations Boost Performance
Behavioral psychologist Robert Rosenthal introduced the Pygmalion effect. It works on the level of expectations. If any prominent leader or authoritative figure believes we can do specific tasks really well, we work extra hard to meet their expectations.
Similarly, our performance descends when a higher figure does not put confidence in us. So, we do not explore our full potential and tend to give partial results. You can observe it in both academic and practical life.
It is also known as the Rosenthal-Jacobson Effect. In educational institutes, workplaces, parenting, leadership, and sports, people use this technique to motivate others to enhance their performance. Researchers and psychologists have conducted numerous studies to demonstrate this effect.
4. The Pratfall Effect – Minor Mistakes Enhance Likability
The social psychologist Elliot Aronson introduced it. The Pratfall effect is an interesting psychological phenomenon that says that high achievers and successful people become more likable when they commit some blunder that ordinary people do not. Hence, people humanize them rather than consider them perfect beings. And they love them more.
Frequently, people consider celebrities as perfect individuals because of their constant glowing faces and well-done hair. But when they commit mistakes like spilling coffee or tripping while walking, people feel closer to them and consider them humble human beings.
5. The Focusing Effect – Overemphasizing One Aspect In Making Decisions
Psychologist Daniel Kahneman et al. introduced it. According to this effect, when we focus on just one piece of information rather than seeing the entire picture to make an informed decision. We witness the focusing effect when we over-emphasize minor details and disregard more apparent information.
This effect comes into play when we shop for something. If you emphasize just one feature when buying a phone, you will tend to ignore its other features. And it clouds your overall judgment and decision for the product. On the other hand, if you only focus on what is wrong around you, you tend to lose sight of the positive stuff happening.
6. The Bystander Effect – Reluctance To Help In A Group
Introduced by Psychologists John M. Darley and Bibb Latané, it is related to the psychological trait of the human instinct to help someone in need. The more people present on the scene where someone needs help, the less people will likely move forward to help.
In any emergency situation, it is a general human behavior to help the person. But it depends on the people or witnesses present to decide whether he wants to help or not. When there are more people around, even a single person does not take responsibility for the situation. All of them become mere spectators because they think someone else will take up the responsibility.
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7. Lady Macbeth Effect – Craving Moral Purity Post-Unethical Acts
This psychological effect is named after the character Lady Macbeth from Shakespeare’s play. It is linked to body cleaning and washing closely with moral cleanliness. It comes from the famous scene in which Lady Macbeth, who had been involved in the murder with her husband, vigorously attempts to wash her hands to remove imagined blood stains.
As per this effect, people who feel shame or guilt while doing something immoral or socially unacceptable tend to wash their hands and body more than others. They do so to remove their sins and become purer. You can see it in many aspects. For example, someone has started to do more charity to create a moral balance for his sins. It is because they think doing good will make their crimes less effective, and they will become invisible.
Similarly, if someone doesn’t follow the rules of their group or does something that’s seen as not okay by their community, they might feel a certain way as they try to make things right morally.
8. The Google Effect – Relying On The Web For Memory
Betsy Sparrow, Jenny Liu, and Daniel Wegner presented this effect. It is also known as digital amnesia. In this effect, people tend to forget the information they can look up on Google. In other words, people tend to forget the information but remember where to look for it, like Google or Bing.
While it has some positive effects like time saving and efficiency, the downside is that it is making people forgetful. They are extensively relying on external memory. Instead of storing facts and details in memory, individuals often trust that they can quickly retrieve the information they need using search engines.
9. The Framing Effect – How Information Is Presented Influences Judgment
According to the framing effect, people answer the same question or query differently when presented in a different style or scenario. We often choose the option that appears beneficial to us, even if both options are the same. It was first coined by Kahneman and Tversky.
For example, in an investment scenario, people tend to choose the first option, which is described as having a 90% chance of success, over the second option, with a 10% chance of failure, as it appears more beneficial. Although both options mean the same, they have different framing.
10. The Stroop Effect – Word-Color Conflict Slows Response Time
It was first introduced by John Ridley Stroop, a psychologist. According to this interesting phenomenon, our brain struggles a bit when it sees the name of a color written in another color. For example, it takes our brain a few seconds to read “Green” if it is in pink color. Reading something in mismatched colors requires our brain to concentrate more.
This effect depicts how our brain works in decision-making or multitasking. It also helps to identify people who have attention disorders and cognitive issues.
Wrapping Up
There are many psychological effects that come into play in our thinking patterns and behavior. And every phenomenon shapes our brain in a certain way. These effects subconsciously guide our decision-making as well. Studying them in-depth makes us aware of what happens in brain activity and behavior when these phenomena occur.