Did You Know? Ten Interesting Psychology Facts

By Nicole Houck

The world of Psychology is fascinating. But, those of us who have never had the opportunity to study it may not know much about it at all. I’ve compiled some ten interesting facts in and around the realm of psychology. Maybe these will come in handy at your next trivia night. Who knows?

1: Modern Psychology has Roots in Ancient Greece

What we know as “psychology” today is rooted in some… interesting theories. Take The Four Humors for example. Hippocrates’ theory of Humorism was one of the early personality theories that set the stage for psychology. Hippocrates suggested that the “humors” of the body were responsible for personality. These humors included blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. 

As the theory goes, an overabundance of any of these was to blame for certain personality traits. Too much blood led to a "sanguine" personality characterized by cheery joy and energy. Too much phlegm, a “phlegmatic” personality, caused a person to be extremely calm and nearly emotionless. “Choleric” individuals were those with too much yellow bile. This overabundance led to assertiveness, determination, and irritability. Finally, a “melancholic” personality, caused by too much black bile, referred to a person who was very pensive and prone to sadness. To read more about Humerism, check out this BBC article.

2: Anxious People Might Handle Crisis Better than Others

This might sound ridiculous, but hear me out. Not only are there certain studies that back up this claim, but, if you really think about it, it also starts to make sense from a logical standpoint. Margaret Distler, a psychiatrist at the UCLA Anxiety Disorders Clinic, lends some of her expertise to the conversation in this Vice article. 

Some studies have shown that individuals with Generalized Anxiety Disorder are more likely to have higher blood pressure and heart rate, but they are less reactive to stressors. This could mean that anxious people are more prepared to act in times of crisis than the average person. Also, if an anxious individual spends a lot of time considering various crises and issues, they might be more prepared to face these troubles than those of us who never saw it coming. 

3: Our Brains are Already 90% Developed by Age Five

While scientists have long been aware of the rapid development that takes place in the early stages of life, this fact could be surprising for those of us who have not studied child development. There have been many research studies (take Lebel et al.’s 2008 study on microstructural brain maturation, for example) that have shown what we now believe to be true: Out of our entire anticipated brain development, around 90% is complete by the age of five. 

4: “Pretty Privilege” is a Real Phenomenon

You may have heard the term “pretty privilege” before. This is the idea that people who are conventionally attractive have certain advantages in life due to their appearance. Well, psychologists have found this to be true.

Deemed the Halo Effect, this phenomenon occurs when we are attracted to someone else, either due to their appearance or personality. If we are attracted to them, we tend to assume that they have various other positive traits even if we have not yet seen anything to suggest this. For example, if you find someone attractive, you likely automatically assume they are also smart and capable. This can happen even if you don’t mean it to and before you realize why you assume these things. If you want to read more about the Halo Effect, visit this page from Psychology Today. 

5: The Brain Can and Does Rewire Itself

This is a quality of the brain experts call “neuroplasticity.” Neuroplasticity, sometimes also called neural plasticity, is the ability of the brain to create new synaptic connections and reorganize itself. Our brains are constantly creating new, physical connections via the neurons. While it might sound crazy, this ability is what enables us to learn new things and heal after trauma. Neuroplasticity is what allows us to regain functions after brain damage. The brain can create new connections around damaged areas in order to restore certain abilities. If you think this sounds interesting, you can learn more about neuroplasticity from this Cleveland Clinic page. 

6: No Born-Blind Person Has Ever Been Diagnosed with Schizophrenia

This may not sound true, but it is, and scientists aren’t really sure why. There have been various studies trying to understand this surprising fact, like Chamsi et al.’s 2021 study “Schizophrenic or blind but not both” which found that being born blind may somehow protect people against developing schizophrenia. It has also been noted that many individuals with schizophrenia have good eyesight, despite other visual issues that may occur. 

One main theory behind this is that something about individuals who are born blind genetically or physiologically protects them from developing schizophrenia. For example, it could be that the brains of people who are born blind use the extra “brain space”, that otherwise would have been dedicated to visual processing, to protect itself from developing any impairments that are associated with schizophrenia. Another theory is that there is another unknown factor always present in the lives of blind people that somehow prevents them from developing schizophrenia. As science continues to evolve, I have hope that we might one day come to understand it.

7: The Two Sides of the Brain Control the Opposite Sides of the Body

Your brain is made up of two hemispheres: right and left. The right hemisphere of the brain both receives information from and controls the left side of the body, and the left hemisphere receives information from and controls the right side of the body. One way scientists know this to be true is by studying people who have had a stroke. For example, if a person experiences a stroke in the left side of their brain, they may experience paralysis of limbs on the right side of their body. And, as with many scientific questions, the reason why our brains and bodies are crosswired is currently not fully understood. However, if you want to understand a bit more about how the brain works, visit this page from the National Institute of Health.

8: More People Around Decreases the Likelihood of Being Helped

This is a well-studied phenomena in social psychology known as “the bystander effect.” There have been various studies that show that having more people around if you need help actually decreases the likelihood that any one of them will come to your aid. It sounds terrible, and I’m sure that many of us would like to think we would help no matter who else was around, but this has been proven over and over again. 

However, if we understand the reason behind the bystander effect, we can take action when people are in need. Take a moment to learn more about this phenomena here. Now, let’s walk through a quick scenario. Say you are walking on a very busy street and you see a person on the ground asking people for help as they walk by. Everyone around you continues to walk, so you do too, and there are reasons why. First, you might assume that, with so many people in the area, surely someone will eventually help this person. This takes the burden of responsibility off of you and places it on others. Also, you may not want to break any unspoken social rule by helping this person. If everyone else is ignoring the issue, maybe they know something that you don’t, so you ignore it too. The issue is, everyone else is thinking the same thing.

9: Your Brain Contains 86 Billion Neurons

Neurons are specialized nerve cells in your body that conduct electrical impulses. These are necessary for movement, sight, and life itself. Earlier estimates had put the number of neurons in the human brain at about 100 billion. However, new studies that have been able to provide slightly more accurate estimations suggest the actual number is closer to 86 billion.

The process of estimating how many neurons are in the brain likely seems complicated, but it really comes down to counting the number of neurons in one part of the brain and then applying that number to the rest of the brain. Well, it might be a bit more complicated than it seems, but that is the general idea behind the estimation. You can read more about this finding here. 

10: Placebos Can Be Just as Effective as Real Treatments

The “placebo effect” is a phenomenon in which something physical or mental about an individual changes (typically for the better) when they believe they have received something to cause that change, even if they have not actually received it. Scientists have found that, in some cases, receiving a placebo treatment can cause results just as strong as those who received a real treatment. Now, of course, a placebo will not “cure” things in the typical sense, but it can do things like improve performance and decrease pain. 

Harvard Health explains just how important the placebo effect is in understanding the human mind and body. While most of the effects of medicines or treatments are from the content of the treatment itself, we cannot downplay the impact of the ritual of receiving medication or treatment. Simply the act of believing a medicine has been taken can lead us to feel less pain or nausea. It is evidence of the power of our brains. If we believe something will happen, this belief alone can cause the expected outcome.