9 Psychological Tricks Our Brain Is Constantly Playing on Us That Put Us in Awkward Situations

The Buddhists have an interesting way of describing the mind. Their philosophy is rooted in the core proposition that the mind is deluded, and we are caught in a loop of delusions that make up our world. Although there might be many who believe in making their own realities, there is a growing body of research that supports the Buddhist proposition.

Whether or not we are living in a simulated reality or The Matrix, scientists are certain that our minds play convoluted games with us. We are slaves to our own mind games, and we are not aware. The first step to being more aware is to catch ourselves in the process, and to recognize the pitfalls in our reasoning. Here is a list of cognitive biases and fallacies of the mind that we fall victim to daily.

1. Denomination Effect

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Some have a habit of carrying smaller denominations of currency in the hope of spending less. Parting with a 500 rupee note is a torment. But science says otherwise. The denomination effect means that we are more likely to spend more and faster if we carry around smaller denominations. If you aren’t convinced, watch your pocket the next time you go shopping.

2. Less-is-better Effect

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Proposed by Christopher Hsee of the University of Chicago, this trick is talking about our preferences and bias in evaluation when a set of alternatives is evaluated separately. It is best explained with an example: you might like a smaller gift that is more appealing to you than a bigger gift that doesn’t please you, even if it is more expensive when compared to the one you like. Think a bar of artisanal dark chocolate than a basket of commonplace goodies.

3. Decision Fatigue

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This is probably why you keep scrolling forever on your phone trying to order food after a long day at work. No matter how many choices you have, you have trouble picking something to order or prepare. This might be because you spent the whole day calling shots at the office or making decisions about a million things. At the end of the day, something as easy and simple as dinner is all of a sudden too difficult.

4. Yerkes–Dodson Effect

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We have been told countless times that success is a result of how motivated we are. Turns out it was just bad advice. The Yerkes-Dodson law says that sometimes being too motivated to achieving something can backfire. This probably explains why the more you yearn for something, the harder it becomes to reach it. Apparently, the relationship between motivation and performance is a bell-curve. It is best to stay in the middle.

5. Social Proof

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Similar to herd behavior, this is a psychological phenomenon where we use other people’s behaviors to justify and guide their own behavior. You might seek reassurance from a celebrity, an expert, friends, or the masses. This explains why we spend a significant amount of time reading reviews from other customers on an e-commerce website instead of reading the product description. This is also why celebrity endorsements and social influencer reviews work like a charm for most companies.

6. Low-balling

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Low-balling is a common sales tactic where buyers are offered an attractive deal or price, then the terms of the arrangement are changed in the seller’s favor. Using this tactic, buyers are tricked into complying with a deal that they wouldn’t have agreed to earlier. Since they have already agreed to the deal, the buyers feel hesitant to back out.

7. Foot-in-the-mouth

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Another sales tactic, this depends on manipulating people’s moods and emotions to elicit a favorable response to your request or proposal. It is an influence technique where we start off the conversation with a person, even build a rapport with them, and then venture to make a request. At that point, the person will be more likely to indulge you rather than deny your request because you are appealing to their friendliness.

8. Overconfidence Effect

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Overconfidence effect is simply when you overestimate your abilities and skills. You think you are a guitar prodigy, or a great musician while the truth is that your friends are just bearing with you, like the good friends of Phoebe Buffay. If you sometimes catch yourself thinking that you are smarter or more attractive than the lesser mortals, it means that your ego is inflated. Those who tell you otherwise might be flattering you for their own benefit.

9. Contrast Effect

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As is usually the case, Einstein had not so subtly pointed this one out: it’s all relative. You can feel like the belle of the ball or the ugly duckling depending on where you are. When your brain is bombarded with stimuli one after the other, our perceptions are altered in comparison. The same thing can appear priceless at one point and worthless a few moments later in contrast to something else.

There are so many games that our mind plays with us. Do you have a cognitive bias that you realized, and took you by surprise? Let us know.

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