We like to think that we are rational people and that emotions take over only from time to time. However, the deeper we delve into the human mind, the more we realize that our decisions, attitudes and behaviors are determined by numerous factors, many of which escape our awareness.
The psychological effects to which we are most vulnerable
- Pratfall Effect – Making mistakes makes us more likable
Many people are obsessed with not making mistakes. They are embarrassed about stumbling in public or making a mistake when giving a speech. The fear of making a mistake is so strong that in some cases it becomes an obsession. As a result, the person concentrates so much on preventing mistakes that their performance suffers and they may even convey a distant, cold or snobbish image.
However, according to the Pratfall Effect, making a mistake in front of others increases our attractiveness, making us more likable. This was demonstrated by a study carried out at the University of Minnesota where people were asked to evaluate how pleasant and likeable they found the participants in a contest. It was found that the participants classified as more pleasant were those who made mistakes and not those who performed impeccably. Why? Simply because people perceived them as more approachable and felt a deeper empathy for their mistakes.
- Pygmalion Effect – Great expectations lead to great results
A few years ago, psychologist Robert Rosenthal conducted a very interesting experiment: he told some elementary school teachers that some of their students were bright and that others had learning difficulties. At the end of the course, the students who were described as “bright” showed better grades, while those who supposedly had learning difficulties obtained lower grades.
This study shows us that when we have certain expectations about a person or even about ourselves, we will adopt a series of attitudes and behaviors that make that “prophecy” come true, even if we are not aware of them. Why? Because once we have formed an image, our brain prefers to work to confirm it rather than looking for evidence to contrast it.
Daniel Kahneman said that “nothing in life is as important as you think it is when you’re thinking about it.” This psychologist from Princeton University conducted a very curious experiment: he asked people in the American Midwest how happy they thought Californians were. They all said that Californians were happier than them. Why? Simply because they focused on the stereotypical image of California and did not take into account the positive aspects of their own cities.
In our daily lives, we are also victims of the Focus Effect, which is also known as “tunnel vision” since we are not able to see beyond our preconceived image. This happens to us when we analyze situations from a reductionist perspective and we close ourselves off to considering other opinions, when we focus so much on certain aspects that we lose the overall vision and, as a result, we reach biased conclusions that can lead us to make bad decisions.
- Spotlight Effect – Your mistakes aren’t as noticeable as you think
We tend to believe that we are the centre of the universe, even though we rationally know that this is not the case. We tend to believe that we are under the spotlight and that everyone is watching us. However, this attitude is nothing more than simple paranoia, a sign of our egocentrism, because in reality the others are much less interested in us than we suppose.
This was demonstrated by a study conducted by psychologists at Cornell University, who asked a group of people to wear a T-shirt with an image that embarrassed them. They then had to estimate how many people had noticed their T-shirt. As you can imagine, the participants believed that many people had noticed them, although this was not the case and in most cases they had gone completely unnoticed.
We tend to think that if something bad happens to us in the middle of a crowd of people, we will have a high probability of being rescued, but in reality this is not the case; quite the opposite: the probability of receiving or giving help is inversely proportional to the number of people there. This is what is known as the Bystander Effect or “diffusion of responsibility”.
This effect was discovered in a study conducted at Columbia and New York University, in which respondents heard a loud bang indicating that another participant had had an accident in the adjacent room. When people believed they were alone, 85% ran to help the supposed injured person, but when they thought there were more people nearby, only 31% offered help. What is the reason for this effect? Simply because we believe that the responsibility of helping others falls on others and not on us.
References:
Gilovich, T. & Husted, V. (2000) The Spotlight Effect in Social Judgment: An Egocentric Bias in Estimates of the Salience of One’s Own Actions and Appearance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology ; 78(2): 211-222.
Schkade, DA & Kahneman, D. (1998) Does living in California make people happy? A Focusing Illusion in Judgments of Life Satisfaction. Psychological Science ; 9(5): 340-346.
Aronson, E., Willerman, B., & Floyd, J. (1966) The effect of a pratfall on increasing interpersonal attractiveness. Psychonomic Science ; 4(6): 227-228.
Rosenthal, R. & Jacobson, L. (1980) Pygmalion in school: teacher expectations and pupil intellectual development . Madrid: Ed. Marova.
Darley, JM & Latane, B. (1968) Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology ; 8: 377-383.
Leave a Reply