The hottest Psychology Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
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Top Culture Topics

The New Expanded Illustrated Orwelexicon: DSM 666

Unsafe Science • 48 implied HN points • 14 Nov 24
🔬 Science Psychology Academia Sociology Research Bias
  1. The New Expanded Illustrated Orwelexicon introduces new words to highlight biases and issues in psychology and academia. It aims to make these concepts clearer and more accessible.
  2. This resource shows how language can shape our understanding of societal problems. By using specific terms, it helps pinpoint dysfunctions within various fields.
  3. Overall, the Orwelexicon encourages critical thinking about psychology and social science. It invites people to reflect on how words influence perceptions and beliefs.

From Intentions to Actions: Achieving Goals with Implementation Intentions

UX Psychology • 297 implied HN points • 05 Jan 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Psychology Goal setting Research Habits Self-Improvement
  1. Form implementation intentions to bridge the gap between intentions and actions by creating specific if-then plans linking cues to goal-directed behaviors.
  2. Research shows that forming if-then plans can significantly increase the likelihood of achieving goals in various areas such as health, consumer choices, and personal goals.
  3. To apply implementation intentions, choose specific goals, identify situational cues, specify goal-directed responses, form if-then plan statements, and commit to following through.

The Dunning-Kruger Effect: Cognitive Bias or Statistical Artefact?

UX Psychology • 218 implied HN points • 16 Feb 24
🔬 Science Cognitive Bias Psychology Statistics User Experience Awareness
  1. The Dunning-Kruger effect explains how people with lower ability often overestimate their competence, while highly skilled individuals tend to underestimate their capabilities.
  2. The disconnect between competence and metacompetence judgments is seen not only in psychology but also in areas like aviation, memory, and medical skills. It can impact product development and UX teams by highlighting the challenge of relying on feedback from less competent individuals.
  3. Debate continues on whether the Dunning-Kruger effect is purely a statistical artefact or a psychological phenomenon. Regardless, it prompts the need for critical self-awareness, peer review, and continuous growth to mitigate its impact in fields like UX.
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Why The Sky Smells Great

Everything Is Amazing • 1303 implied HN points • 25 May 23
🔬 Science Nature Health Biology Psychology Weather
  1. The smell of fresh air can impact our mood and health, like boosting immune cells when exposed to aromatic forest scents.
  2. Weather changes can create distinct smells, like the pre-storm smell of ozone or the earthy petrichor after rain.
  3. Our sense of smell may have deeper cultural and biological connections that we are still exploring.

Harness the Science of the “Fresh Start Effect” to Help You Reach Your Goals

The Dose • 452 implied HN points • 23 Mar 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Psychology Personal Development Goal setting Seasonal Motivation
  1. The beginning of spring is a great time to start fresh and work towards your goals.
  2. Transitions like the start of a new season allow for a blank slate and renewed motivation.
  3. Spring is a psychological refresh button - use it as an opportunity to reconnect with your values and goals.

Holmes' Helper

Marlene’s Newsletter • 4 implied HN points • 21 May 25
💾 History True Crime Biography Historical Events Psychology
  1. In the 1890s, gruesome discoveries were made at H. H. Holmes' building, where human remains were found buried. The sight shocked the community, revealing Holmes as a notorious murderer.
  2. Pat Quinlan, who claimed to be just a janitor, was suspected of knowing more about Holmes' crimes. His involvement with the hotel raised questions about what he really knew.
  3. Holmes was executed in 1896, but Quinlan struggled with guilt and fear afterward. He believed he was haunted by the ghosts of Holmes' victims, leading to his tragic end in 1914.

Paul Stamets on Fungi, Heterodoxy and Systems

rebelwisdom • 687 implied HN points • 07 Mar 23
🔬 Science Biology Ecology Evolution Psychology
  1. Fungi play a critical role in ecosystems, being essential for survival and offering various benefits to humans.
  2. Mycelium networks demonstrate resilience and adaptability, showing how diversity and innovation can emerge from minorities and unconventional thinking.
  3. Psilocybin mushrooms provide not just physical effects, but also potential societal and spiritual benefits, connecting different cultures and promoting collaboration over conflict.

Rational beliefs

VS Blog • 99 implied HN points • 28 Apr 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Beliefs Psychology Health Mindset Self-Improvement
  1. Believing in rational beliefs unlocks immense energy and motivation, unlike irrational beliefs.
  2. To hold rational beliefs, it's key to ground them in what we know to be true and frame them as possibilities rather than certainties.
  3. Maintaining a positive state of mind is beneficial for leveraging beliefs, alongside reframing and reducing them.

The Mathematics of PsyWar

Who is Robert Malone • 10 implied HN points • 14 Jan 25
🇺🇸 U.S. Politics Propaganda Public Policy Social media Psychology Government
  1. Governments and companies use advanced technology and psychology to influence how we think and behave, similar to controlling drones. This means our actions might be shaped without us even knowing.
  2. Social media platforms analyze our interactions and opinions using mathematical models, which helps them manipulate our feelings and responses in real-time.
  3. When we engage online, we are part of a system where our thoughts and communications are tracked and influenced for various purposes, including commercial and political agendas.

Interracial Dating Paper FAQ

sebjenseb • 196 implied HN points • 10 Feb 24
🔬 Science Research Genetics Data Analysis Psychology Relationships
  1. Assortative mating occurs between races, with individuals who date outside their race being more similar to each other in terms of intelligence, height, and risk-taking behaviors.
  2. Current literature suggests that interracial relationships may have a higher likelihood of ending or experiencing domestic violence issues, and mixed-race children might be more prone to mental/behavioral problems, possibly due to self-selection rather than social factors.
  3. Attractiveness was a weak predictor of interracial dating across all races, indicating that mate value or race exchanges based on mate value were not significant factors in interracial dating.

Moving Beyond Doomism: Data-Driven Strategies for Effective Climate Content

This Week in MCJ (My Climate Journey) • 393 implied HN points • 14 Mar 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Data Communication Behavior Circular Economy Psychology
  1. Data-driven decisions are crucial in climate content to engage mainstream audiences effectively.
  2. Promoting self-interest in climate content yields more results than focusing on planetary benefits.
  3. Starting with simple, relatable content and gradually guiding individuals towards impactful actions can drive engagement and awareness.

Vitamin B for Engineering Teams: Psychological Safety

The Healthy Engineering Leader • 59 implied HN points • 04 Jun 24
💼 Business Team Dynamics Leadership Psychology Performance
  1. Psychological safety in teams is really important. It helps everyone feel safe to share ideas, make mistakes, and ask questions without fear.
  2. There are four stages of psychological safety: inclusion safety, learner safety, contributor safety, and challenger safety. Each stage builds on the previous one to help teams grow and work better together.
  3. Just like vitamins are essential for our health, psychological safety is essential for a healthy and effective team. When teams feel safe, they can innovate and succeed.

The Wood From Eden book recommendations page

Wood From Eden • 432 implied HN points • 06 Feb 24
📚 Literature Anthropology History Psychology Philosophy
  1. It's valuable to explore book recommendations even if you can't read them all from cover to cover.
  2. Readers can share book and film recommendations on specific categories on the Wood From Eden book recommendations page.
  3. The principle behind the recommendations page is to create a space for like-minded readers to share and discover new, interesting books and films.

Using Psychology to Improve User Onboarding

UX Psychology • 377 implied HN points • 14 Jul 23
🕹 Technology UX Design Psychology User Experience Decision-making
  1. Leverage psychology in user onboarding to create informative, enjoyable, and memorable experiences.
  2. Utilize the Zeigarnik effect by using progress meters, reminders, and allowing partial profile completion to keep users engaged.
  3. Decrease complexity with Hicks' law by reducing choices, highlighting easy options, and using progressive onboarding to improve decision-making and enhance user experience.

Capitalism and Schizophrenia

Daniel Pinchbeck’s Newsletter • 19 implied HN points • 14 Dec 24
🎭️ Culture Philosophy Social Issues Technology Art Psychology
  1. Technology can have dark sides that lead to feelings of alienation and violence. Instead of making life better for everyone, it sometimes creates more problems.
  2. Some people believe that extreme actions, like violence, are the only way to deal with the damage being done to our planet and society. This shows how desperate some individuals feel about addressing big issues.
  3. There are mysterious reports of 'alien drones' in the sky, but no one knows where they come from. This makes us question what’s really happening around us and how much control we have.

There are Complex-Number One-Norm Square-Root of Probability Amplitudes of 0.006 in Which Sam Bankman-Fried Is Happy

Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality • 676 implied HN points • 05 Oct 23
💰 Finance Investing Risk management Probability Psychology Trading
  1. Amplitudes in quantum-mechanical superposition relate to philosophy-of-probability vs. psychology.
  2. Understanding the Kelly Criterion for betting based on win-loss odds and maximizing returns.
  3. Traders use the Kelly Criterion for survival, making positive-value bets, and psychological factors.

Straightlining OCD

Living Fossils • 15 implied HN points • 18 Dec 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health Evolutionary biology Psychology Cognitive Science Behavioral Health
  1. Humans have evolved in messy environments, but our modern spaces are often too neat and straight. This neatness can create feelings of dissatisfaction and perfectionism, as humans are always seeking better conditions.
  2. OCD might be more common today because our environments exaggerate feelings of dissatisfaction. We notice minor imperfections more easily in our structured lives than our ancestors did in their chaotic natural settings.
  3. People today are better equipped to try and fix their surroundings, which can lead to a cycle of anxiety and compulsive behavior. Our ability to improve things can sometimes make us feel worse when everything doesn't match our ideals.

The Unreasonable Ineffectiveness of Effective Altruism in thinking about AI

Ulysses • 179 implied HN points • 05 Feb 24
📖 Philosophy Ethics Logic Epistemology Ontology Psychology
  1. Knowledge systems using symbolic logic in natural language are heuristic and capture reality imperfectly.
  2. Validity of heuristics depends on the similarity between the original context and current application.
  3. Rigid deontological symbolic morality may fail in reasoning about new events like AI, leading to ineffective discussions and decision-making.

Sensitivity-to-the-world

box. • 359 implied HN points • 20 Sep 23
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health Psychology Self-help
  1. Being labeled as 'gifted' or having ADHD can create pressure and frustration. Some people feel these labels don't really reflect their struggles and often lead to unfair expectations.
  2. It's important to address needs before they become critical. Creating an accommodating environment helps everyone feel supported and reduces the chance of slipping into crisis.
  3. Sensitivity can be viewed as a strength rather than a weakness. With the right tools and understanding, people can harness their sensitivity to succeed and thrive.

What chess taught me about the differences between men and women

The Joyous Struggle • 335 implied HN points • 17 Aug 23
🎭️ Culture Gender Society Psychology Equality Education
  1. Men and women are different, and these differences are reflected in chess aptitude, with implications beyond just biology or psychology.
  2. The gender question involves social, cultural, political, and historical factors, and the conversation must be navigated carefully.
  3. Chess aptitude differences between men and women are complex, with sociological explanations being compelling but not fully convincing.

The AI basis of the Eve Theory of Consciousness

Vectors of Mind • 314 implied HN points • 07 Jun 23
🔬 Science Evolution Psychology Mythology Language Personality
  1. The Eve Theory of Consciousness suggests self-awareness was discovered by women and spread memetically.
  2. Personality structure can be understood using language models to determine latent factors related to important traits.
  3. Gossip and social selection played a role in shaping personality traits like considerateness and tolerance.

Playing pretend

Erifili • 159 implied HN points • 30 Jan 24
🎭️ Culture Human connection Social media Psychology Generational Dynamics
  1. There is a rise in 'TikTok psychology' that promotes disingenuity and calculated behavior for human connections, especially among Gen Z.
  2. Being genuine and open in human connections leads to more fulfilling and rewarding experiences, contrary to what is often portrayed in quick psychology tips on social media.
  3. Embracing openness and authenticity in communication saves time and energy, fostering real connections and personal growth.

In Defense of Repression

Litverse • 379 implied HN points • 05 Feb 23
📖 Philosophy Identity Psychology Meaning Belief Existentialism
  1. Our cells constantly die and renew, questioning our identity continuity - Are we the same from day to day?
  2. Around 20% of Americans receive mental health treatment, with generational differences in therapy acceptance.
  3. Repression can be seen as a means to connect to a greater meaning beyond the self and as a tool for survival.

"Cheap tricks" in human language comprehension

The Counterfactual • 119 implied HN points • 04 Mar 24
🔬 Science Cognition Linguistics Psychology Neuroscience Language processing
  1. People often don’t notice mistakes in language and just assume they are reading correctly. This happens because our brains are quick to fill in the gaps and make sense of sentences, even if they are wrong.
  2. Traditionally, understanding language was thought to involve deep processing, but new ideas suggest we often use simple, fast tricks instead. This is called 'good-enough' comprehension and helps us keep up in fast conversations.
  3. Just like humans, language models also use shortcuts. While some criticize AI for not truly understanding language, humans rely on similar cognitive tricks to quickly navigate and understand communication.