HACK YOUR LIFE WITH THESE PSYCHOLOGY TRICKS

1. How to tell when someone is lying: Common signs of deception are rises or falls in vocal tone, the intentional omission of specific details, and the repetition of questions before answering. Many people think that body language is a dead giveaway for deception. But according to Dr. Jenny Taitz, a Los Angeles-based clinical psychologist, body language is often unreliable for determining deception. Whether a person fidgets or stands still, averts their gaze or stares you down, there's no reliable way to use body language to detect truth.

2. When you want something from someone, ask that person for something absurd first. Then, when they say no, tell them your real request. For example, if you want gum, ask your friend for the whole container. When they decline, say, “can I just have one then?” Chances are that they’ll reluctantly accept.

3. How to tell if someone likes you and enjoys your company:

1. • They look at you when they start laughing. People often look to the person they like the most to see if they’re laughing too.

   • They remember small details. Whether they comment on your outfit or notice your new haircut, noticing small details is often enough a sign that they like you.

1. • They mirror what you do. If you’re looking at something, crossing your arms, or standing a certain way and the person mirrors it, it could mean they like you.

   • They maintain eye contact. Mutual eye contact shows that they are engaged and acknowledge your presence.

   • They lightly touch you. If you casually touch a person and they pull away, it’s possible that they aren’t interested in you. However, there are a lot of people who just don’t like being touched.

4. When you're in an argument, stay calm and brief. This will frustrate the other party and they’ll likely make excuses and drop the conversation. If someone is yelling, calmly ask them, “Why are you yelling?” When they angrily explain their reason, ask, “But why are you yelling?” They’ll be tongue-tied on that one! Sometimes it can be hard to remain calm, but for the most part, yelling in an argument won’t help the other person see your point any better.

5. When speaking to a person, use their name in the conversation. It’ll make them more inclined to speak with you. When you say someone's name, their attention automatically focuses on you and what you're talking about. This can be helpful when you want someone to pay attention to you and focus.

6. If you can't stop your flow of thoughts at night, get up and write them down. For example, say you forgot something at the store or forgot that you have a test the next day and you keep stressing about it. You can set a reminder for the next day about the items you need or what you need to study before you start your day. Spending five minutes writing your list down beats having a restless night!

These six psychology tips are sure to improve your ability to communicate with other people and live your most effective life- but what if you want to learn more? Well, the study of psychology is full of interesting information. Here are eight more psychology facts to satisfy your curiosity!

1. When you discuss your goals to others out loud, you’re more likely to lose motivation in achieving that goal. Research at NYU led by Peter Gollwitzer found that students whose goals were publicly known tended to act less on them than students whose goals were unknown by the public. Let’s say you want to go to the gym or start making money. When a person keeps that goal to themself, it makes it more special to them. However, when you share your goals, it no longer feels like a special thing that only belongs to you.

2. In terms of happiness, spending money on experiences plays a more favorable role than spending money on materialistic items. A particular study by Leaf Van Boven, who attended University of Colorado, emphasizes the idea that spending money on experiences versus materialistic things could be more valuable. For example, say you go on vacation. Buying a bunch of merch is exciting, but what most people recall are the experiences and what they did during those vacations that made it worth smiling. Wouldn’t you rather spend money on making special memories rather than short-term objects?

3. In certain circumstances, stress is actually beneficial. Firstly, stress is going to follow everyone during their lifetime, so you might as well make effective use of it. A study done by Stanford psychologist Alia Crum and her colleagues further explains how changing the way you think can help turn your stress into something positive. Believe it or not, our most valuable accomplishments all started out with stress. Whether that is figuring out your future career, making passing grades, or having valuable relationships, stress can actually be a helpful force. Stress reminds you to keep working on an issue and to make it a priority. If you're stressed out about a test, for example, that might motivate you to study.

4. People with low self-esteem are more likely to criticize others. These people tend to notice all the little things that are wrong about themselves. Sometimes, they inflict that behavior back on other people they interact with.

5. Most people have an inner voice in their mind. Whether you have conversations with yourself, motivate yourself, or even imagine a voice in your head while reading, this behavior can be helpful to understand and process what we take in. Although it’s a simple phenomenon, it’s quite interesting when you think about it. Research shows that almost everyone experiences something like this, but there are some differences. Some people, for example, might think with images or emotions instead of a narrative voice.

6. Multitasking isn’t actually a thing. Even when you think you’re doing two things at once, you’re actually just quickly switching between the two.

7. Most people text things they can’t say in person. Multiple studies have shown that people tend to be more comfortable with revealing subjects over text rather than during in-person conversations.

8. Self-confidence isn’t as much about appearance as you might think. Look at the "halo effect," for example. You might thoughtlessly judge a good-looking person as someone who is comfortable and happy. However, in reality, they could be very insecure. Someone with self-confidence shows more love for themselves and doesn’t care what others think about them.

Learning about psychology doesn't have to be boring. With these simple tips and tricks, you'll improve your interactions with other people and start to understand them- and yourself.