Human Psychology : The Scientific Mechanisms That Influence Our Decisions
Dive into the complex mechanisms of human psychology, explore the role of conscious and unconscious processes, and discover how they shape our decisions and behaviors.
We like to believe our choices are rational, conscious, and under our control. Recognizing the opposite can hurt our ego because it means relinquishing some power. Yet sometimes, accepting this truth can make us more lucid, and therefore stronger.
Research in cognitive psychology and neuroscience is clear: most of our decisions are guided by automatic, unconscious mechanisms.
Let's explore together what happens in the shadows of our choices.
THE UNCONSCIOUS: THE TRUE PILOT OF OUR LIVES
10 seconds. That's the delay scientists have identified between when a decision is processed by our prefrontal cortex and when our consciousness becomes aware of it.(1) In other words: our decisions aren't as free as we think. They're even prepared behind the scenes, long before we become aware of them.
A major scientific review conducted by psychologists John A. Bargh and Tanya L. Chartrand synthesized over 300 studies on human behavior.(2) It shows that most of our judgments, preferences, and behaviors are influenced by automatic processes, meaning they're triggered without conscious intention, often in response to contextual stimuli or deeply ingrained habits.
These findings challenge the idea that we're fully in control of our decisions: a large part of our actions occur unconsciously, well before any rational deliberation.
For example, we can form a negative impression of someone simply because of their facial expression or body posture, without being aware of it. We may also prefer one brand over another simply because we've been exposed to it more often (mere exposure effect), or unconsciously imitate the gestures of an interlocutor to facilitate social connection, without intending to or noticing.
THE BODY'S EFFECT ON THE MIND
You've probably heard some coaches emphasize the importance of posture for gaining charisma. But what if the body's power over the mind was much greater than we imagine?
Two landmark experiments, conducted in 2008(3) and 2010(4), tend to prove this.
The first involved two groups of participants: one held a hot cup, the other a cold cup. Result? Those holding the hot cup spontaneously perceived their interlocutor as warmer and more trustworthy. The brain associates physical warmth with human warmth. So it's no coincidence if you feel more radiant in summer than in winter... or if some offer you coffee or tea during your first visit to their home.
The second experiment examined the impact of posture on self-confidence. Participants adopted a "power posing" posture (arms spread, back straight) for two minutes. The results are clear: increased testosterone (dominance hormone) and decreased cortisol (stress hormone). In short: improving your posture could genuinely boost self-confidence and performance.
The body influences the mind much more than we think.
COGNITIVE BIASES: OUR FALSE FRIENDS
Confirmation biases were defined in 1998 by Raymond Nickerson as a tendency to search for or interpret evidence in ways that favor existing beliefs, expectations, or hypotheses. For example, if you believe that "immigration increases crime," you'll notice more news stories involving foreigners and ignore contrary statistics. The solution is to actively seek counter-evidence and avoid dogmatic viewpoints.
The halo effect is a cognitive bias that leads us to automatically attribute positive qualities to a person based on a single trait: often physical appearance.(5) For a long time, this phenomenon was considered systematically favorable to attractive individuals. But a more recent study by Agthe, Spörrle, and Maner in 2011 nuances this idea(6): the researchers observed that highly attractive people are favored when evaluated by someone of the opposite sex, but may conversely be disadvantaged when evaluated by people of the same sex, especially if they perceive some form of social rivalry or threat. For example, a highly attractive woman may be judged less competent by another woman in a recruitment context, even if her credentials are solid. This study highlights how our judgments are influenced by unconscious factors, often unfair and irrational.
Like confirmation bias, which leads us to seek only information that confirms our beliefs, the halo effect is among the many cognitive biases that shape our perception without our awareness. They're our false friends: they give us the impression of being fair, consistent, or lucid, while distorting our reasoning and potentially leading to judgment errors, discrimination, or unfair decisions. To think more freely, more lucidly, and more equitably, it's essential to identify these biases and actively combat them. It's a daily exercise in questioning, but also a fundamental key to achieving truly critical and conscious thinking.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Understanding these mechanisms doesn't mean renouncing our free will, but rather strengthening its exercise. By becoming aware of our biases, we don't become less free, but better equipped to think and act with lucidity.
As psychologist Daniel Kahneman, Nobel Prize winner in economics, reminds us: "We are blind to our own blindness. We have very little awareness of all that we don't know."
In other words, it's only by illuminating the invisible that we can truly choose and take control of our lives.
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