Psychology
Exploring "Why" questions about Psychology
480 articles
Why do heights feel taller when looking from the top down than from the ground up?
Not to mention, let’s say you’re six feet tall. From the ground, the diving board doesn’t look that tall because your eyes are nearly six feet off the ground. When you’re on top of the board, the grou
Why are Americans frequently labeling socialism as un-American when FDR’s socialist New Deal programs helped solve the depression in the 1930s?
The American left would certainly make the argument that the New Deal demonstrates that we shouldn't be so scared of socialism. The right would reply that the New Deal didn't actually end the Depressi
Why do the epiphany-like developmental leaps of childhood cease as we age?
It's really easy to have a massive leap when you're starting with nothing. Babies start off hardly being able to crawl, but learn to walk within a couple of years. That's what, a 300% increase in mobi
Why do we laugh at things when with a peer that we would not even find amusing alone?
It's a bonding mechanism. A lot of laughter can be attributed to bonding with others: - when people are in a group and laugh, they tend to look at the person they feel closest to or would like to feel
Why do head/scalp massages feel so intensely good?
IIRC: It triggers a dopamine response that has a calming de-stressing effect. Mothers gently touching an infants head while nursing, then later washing and brushing their child's hair calms them and m
Why does it feel good to stretch out on the floor or in bed in the morning?
Your muscles are held in their shape and place by a filmy covering called "fascia". As you sleep or remain motionless the fascia can grow and restrict muscle movement. A good stretch in the morning mo
Why is cutting a release for people with depression?
Speaking from personal experience, I self-harmed for a few reasons. 1) Punishment, believing I deserved to be in pain and to have visible wounds on my body 2) Endorphin release, sometimes that was the
Why do some job applications require a questionnaire with the same “strongly agree/disagree” questions that make me feel like they’re all trick questions?
They ask you the same questions in different ways to see if, after scoring, they were all answered the same way. "I don't lie" "It's always important to tell the truth" "If little Timmy asks if Santa
Why is mental illness such as anxiety and depression so common among millennials compared to older generations.
I believe this has a lot more to do with in understanding and diagnosis than frequency. Mental health knowledge and awareness has increased a lot in the last 50 years. So people are more likely to get
Why do people KEEP pressing the button in /r/button. Is it reward gratification or some other motivation
People want to push it as close to zero as possible to get the rarest color. Take heart though, you had to be registered by April 1st to press it, so eventually there won't be anyone else to press it