Social Psychology

  The false-consensus effect is a cognitive bias that causes people to overestimate the degree to which their beliefs, values, characteristics, and behaviors are shared by others. Essentially, this means that the false consensus effect leads people to assume that others think and act in the same way that they do, even when that isn’t the case. For …

Read moreThe False Consensus Effect: Why People Assume that Everyone Agrees with Them

  The curse of knowledge is a cognitive bias that causes people to fail to account for the fact that others don’t know the same things that they do. Essentially, this means that people who are more knowledgeable than others in some domain often struggle to take this difference in knowledge into account. The curse …

Read moreThe Curse of Knowledge: What It Is and How to Account for It

  A nudge is a simple aspect of people’s decision-making environment that alters their behavior in a predictable way, without forbidding any options or significantly changing their incentives. For example, if a school wants to reduce the amount of soda that students drink, then placing water bottles instead of soda cans near the register in …

Read moreNudge: How Small Changes Can Significantly Influence People’s Choices

  The bandwagon effect is a cognitive bias that causes people to think or act a certain way if they believe that others are doing the same. For example, the bandwagon effect can cause someone to adopt a certain political ideology, because they see that other people in their social circle have adopted the same …

Read moreThe Bandwagon Effect: Why People Tend to Follow the Crowd

  The egocentric bias is a cognitive bias that causes people to rely too heavily on their own point of view when they examine events in their life or when they try to see things from other people’s perspective. Accordingly, the egocentric bias causes people to either underestimate how different other people’s viewpoint is from …

Read moreThe Egocentric Bias: Why It’s Hard to See Things from a Different Perspective

  The familiarity backfire effect is a cognitive bias that causes people to remember misinformation better, and to remember it as being true, after they’re shown corrective information that’s supposed to debunk it, as a result of the increased exposure to the misinformation. For example, if someone is shown evidence that disproves a certain health-related …

Read moreThe Familiarity Backfire Effect: Why Debunking a Myth Can Make People Believe It

  Most people use social media in one form or another. While there is nothing inherently wrong with that, and while social media can sometimes be beneficial, it’s important to be aware that social media is associated with a number of issues and potential dangers, including stress, anxiety, loneliness, and depression. Understanding the dangers of …

Read moreThe Dangers of Social Media and How to Avoid Them

  The empathy gap is a cognitive bias that causes people to struggle to understand mental states that are different from their present state, or to struggle to consider how such states affect people’s judgment and decision-making. Essentially, the empathy gap means that when people are in a certain mental state (e.g. happy or angry), …

Read moreThe Empathy Gap: Why People Fail to Understand Different Perspectives

  Flirting is a key part of many social interactions. At the same time however, flirting is also a behavior that few people truly understand. Fortunately, psychologists have conducted quite a bit of research on the topic of flirting. In the following article, you will learn about the different styles of flirting, including the verbal …

Read moreHow People Flirt: A Scientific Guide

  The Benjamin Franklin effect is a cognitive bias that causes people to like someone more after they do that person a favor, especially if they previously disliked that person or felt neutral toward them. For example, the Ben Franklin effect could cause someone who disliked you to start liking you after they do you …

Read moreThe Benjamin Franklin Effect: How to Build Rapport by Asking for Favors