Psychology, defined plainly

The mental discomfort of holding two conflicting beliefs — which the mind resolves by changing a belief, the behavior, or the story it tells itself.

The tendency to notice, seek, and remember information that fits what you already believe, while discounting what does not.

Leaning too heavily on the first number or piece of information encountered when making an estimate — even when it is arbitrary.

The same fact producing different choices depending on how it is worded — "90% survival" versus "10% mortality".

The pull toward immediate rewards over larger later ones, which makes "I’ll do it later" so convincing and unreliable.

Losing something feels roughly twice as bad as gaining the same thing feels good, tilting choices toward avoiding loss.

Continuing something because of what you have already invested, rather than judging it only on future costs and benefits.

When exposure to one stimulus quietly shapes the response to a later one, without conscious awareness.

A fast mental shortcut that usually works well under time pressure but can produce predictable errors.

Thinking about your own thinking — noticing, monitoring, and adjusting how you learn and reason.

The amount of information working memory is handling at once; overload it and performance and learning drop.

The small, temporary store that holds and manipulates information you are using right now — a mental workbench, not a warehouse.

The process of turning an experience into a memory trace; how well something is encoded shapes whether it can later be recalled.

Learning lasts longer when study is spread across time rather than crammed — one of psychology’s most robust findings.

When later information — including a leading question — distorts the memory of an earlier event.

A vivid, confident memory of a shocking event that feels photographic — yet is often less accurate than it feels.

The set of strategies people use to influence which emotions they have, when, and how they experience and express them.

Changing how you interpret a situation to change its emotional impact — reframing a threat as a challenge.

Putting a feeling into words, which measurably reduces its intensity — naming to tame.

Difficulty identifying and describing one’s own emotions — a trait, not a diagnosis, that varies across people.

The popular idea that "venting" discharges anger. Evidence suggests rehearsing anger tends to strengthen, not release it.

Repetitively turning over the same distressing thoughts without resolution — a pattern linked to low mood.

Explaining others’ behavior by their character but our own by the situation — they’re careless; we were just busy.

Looking to others’ behavior to decide our own, especially when uncertain — powerful, and easily manufactured.

Letting one positive trait — attractiveness, confidence — color our judgment of unrelated traits like competence or honesty.

The more people present, the less likely any one person is to help — responsibility feels diffused across the crowd.

Favoring and trusting "people like us" and holding them to a gentler standard than outsiders.

Complete absorption in an activity where challenge and skill are balanced, self-consciousness fades, and time distorts.

The gradual fading of a response to a repeated, unchanging stimulus — why novelty grabs attention and routine disappears.

The brain’s lifelong ability to reorganize its connections in response to experience — real, but gradual and effortful.