Interesting Psychological Facts About Human Brain That WILL Take You Aback

Did you know that our brain uses statistics to calculate confidence and help us make decisions? According to a study published in Neuron, human brains regularly process data for statistical assessments that ultimately translate into the feeling known as ‘confidence.’ This confidence is central to decision making for all humans. Also, nearly 60% of the brain is fat. Imagine an organ which is surprisingly fatty but capable of controlling all your activities, memories and skills. Whether you want to get assignment help or you have a craving for your favourite ice-cream, it’s your brain that’s making all the decisions. So, here are some interesting psychological facts about the human brain that will help you unravel the riddle of why and how your brain acts the way it does. 

Interesting Psychological Facts About the Human Brain’s Structure and Anatomy 

Let’s say you type ‘pay someone to do my homework’ on Google to hire an expert. You did that because your brain asked you to. It takes in heaps of information every second of the day. From the flower you see to the stranger you encounter during your travel, it strings together all the broken links to make a whole thought for you. Wouldn’t you want to know how your hard-working brain looks like and how does it affect its psychology? 

• Your brain triples its size within the first year of your life and that’s a LOT of work. However, the sad news is the size eventually decreases as you grow up. 
• All the thinking, deciding and processing of the brain takes about 20% of the total energy, blood and oxygen in the body. All the resources constitute about 2% of your entire body weight. There have to be almost 100,000 blood vessels packed into your skill to deliver the right amounts of blood, nutrients and oxygen to your brain. 
• Your brain’s size has nothing to do with your intelligence or intellectuality. Research suggests that the brain size is responsible for only 10% of intelligence variability among different people. 
• The brain is divided into two parts- left and right. Both the hemispheres are separated by a nerve bundle known as the corpus callosum. These two hemispheres make our brain somewhat cross-wired. The right side controls the muscles on the left side of your body. The left side handles the same on your body’s right side. 
• The most significant part of our brain is the cerebrum which also accounts for 85% of the total weight of the brain. The larger size of cerebrum helps it take care of significant survival tasks such as movement, temperature, senses and judgment. It also tackles higher-order operations like emotions, learning, problem solving and reasoning. 
• Have you ever been asked to ‘correct’ your posture? You can blame (or thank) your cerebrum for this. The cerebrum is responsible for your physical balance and posture. 

Your brain handles a lot of activities that you may hardly ever acknowledge. For example, let’s assume you accidentally touched a hot iron. Now would you stop and think before removing your hand? You won’t. Right? It is because of your brain stem that you are still alive and your heart is beating. You can swallow your food because of the cerebrum inside your skill. 

Amazing Facts About Human Brain Memory

Our memory makes us who we are. It makes us laugh, cry and even angry at times. From recollecting childhood events to remembering where we left our keys, memory plays an integral role in our lives. It is because of memory that we have a sense of self and can enjoy the positive experiences of life. So, let’s check out some interesting psychological facts about human brain memory.

1. Short-term memories are easily forgotten 

Short-term memory is the information that you are currently thinking about, or you are aware of. According to experts, you can hold approximately seven items for about 20 to 30 seconds in short-term memory. However, you can stretch this capacity with certain memory strategies like chunking which is the grouping of related information into smaller chunks. Let’s say you tend to forget your car keys and handkerchief every day before leaving home. So, you can try making a list of all the essentials that you must take care of before leaving for work. Memorise this list before you leave the house so that you don’t have to forget anything. 

What are the three main aspects of short-term memory?

• Short-term memory is limited to seven items only in its capacity. 
• Storage is very fragile in short-term memory and the information can be lost with the passage of time. 
• Short-term memory if primarily acoustic. That means, it can translate visual information into sounds. Next time, a visual reminds you of a song, you would know how it happened. 

Psychologist George Miller suggested in a famous paper published in 1956 that the capacity of short-term memory was between five and nine. You can also try out a simple experiment to test the strength of your short-term memory. Spend two minutes memorising a random list of words. Then take a blank sheet and try writing as many words as you can remember. 

2. Learning improves your memory

Constantly misplacing objects or forgetting things is common among lots of people. Memory strength is like muscular strength. Use it more to make it stronger. You have to keep your brain constantly challenged so that it is able to retain more memories. Our brain has an amazing capacity to change and grow new neural connections each day with time and experience. For example, a study of 4715 people showed that 15 minutes of an online brain training program could improve their working memory, concentration and problem-solving skills. 

The following learning strategies can help you deal with mild memory loss:

• Take a mental picture– Try to make a mental note of the things that you often forget. For example, let’s say you often forget your spectacles. The next time you set your spectacles somewhere, take a moment and say to yourself ‘I left my glasses by my wallet on the desk.’ Thus, you can recall this information later.
• Use memory tools– Tools like online reminder devices and hand-held mobile devices can help you keep track of appointments, meetings and other important dates. 
• Follow memorisation techniques– You can overcome minor memory problems with rehearsing information, employing mnemonics and other such strategies. 

Research suggests that speaking multiple languages has the potential to delay the onset of memory problems in people with dementia. You can try learning something new that will force you out of your comfort zone and command your full attention. I had tried learning a new instrument and that helped me big time in improving my memory. Besides this, you can also play mind games or learn a specific type of dance. 

3. Our brain can remember things that didn’t even happen

Did you know that people can be induced to remember the crimes they never committed? Yes! Implanting a false memory of anything is quite easier than you think. For example, interviewers were able to convince 70% of people in an experiment that they had committed a crime when they hadn’t in reality. The participants could recall incredible vivid details and re-enact crimes they never committed in this experiment. Various other studies have also shown that people can be persuaded or rather their brains can be tricked into creating false childhood memories of being lost in a shopping mall or having tea with Prince Charles. 

What causes false memory?

• You may have false memories of an event due to two reasons- misinformation and fabrication of the original source of information.
• Existing or half knowledge can also be responsible for the creation of false memory. 
• According to researcher Elizabeth Loftus, it is possible to induce false memories in your brain through suggestions. And these memories can become more vivid and stronger with time. 

This psychological fact about the human brain gives us enough reason to distrust the eye witness accounts and confessions in the legal system. Thus, it is important to know what kind of false memories can be created, whether it can be distinguished from your real memories and what influences the creation of false memory.

Wrapping Up, 

You are what your brain is. And your brain is one of the most intelligent and emotional organs in your body. No matter what you think, imagine, learn, process, fantasise or even fear, it is all because of the billions of neurons packed inside your brain. Remember, our brains are like supercomputers that are determining everything we do throughout our life. Don’t stuff this amazing organ with toxicity or negative thoughts and make it suffer. Have healthy food, enjoy good company and lead an active lifestyle to make the most of the potential of your brain.