Understanding Fortune Telling
Understanding Fortune Telling How Negative Predictions Create Unnecessary Stress You’ve just been invited to a party. Your friend chimes “I hope you can make it!” with a smile, but your mind is flooded with the horrors of awkward silences, being ignored, and standing...
Understanding Reciprocity
Understanding Reciprocity The Give and Take That Strengthens Relationships Ever heard the phrase, “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”? That’s reciprocity in a nutshell! It’s the social norm of exchanging things with others—whether it’s favours, gifts, or acts of...
Understanding Expectancy Effect
Understanding Expectancy Effect How Your Beliefs Shape Reality Ever feel like things happen exactly how you thought they would? Maybe you’ve gone into a job interview thinking, “This is going to go terribly” and—surprise, surprise—it does. Or you’re convinced that...
Understanding Confirmation Bias
Understanding Confirmation Bias How Confirmation Bias Warps Our View of the World Ever noticed how once you’ve made up your mind about something, you just seem to find endless proof to back it up? Whether it’s politics, your latest hobby or even a conspiracy theory,...
