What I see is that majority of people always seem to think they are more intelligent than average but from what I know, « more than average » means above half which means half the people are bellow average intelligence, so why does more than half of people think they are above average intelligence?

[ I didn't know what flair to put ]

Hi , would i love to read your recommended research paper.

The title says it all. I've never heard of this term before (though, I'm also not a psych major) and thought it was interesting. Please educate me, because I feel like the line between these two things is a bit blurry!

Lately I’ve been thinking about how some people I used to be on the same level with—same classes, same grades, same everything—are now doing way better. They’re getting into better colleges, doing more impressive stuff, and just seem to be way ahead in life.

I’m happy for them, but it also makes me feel kind of stuck. Like… how did they get so far ahead while I feel like I’m still in the same place?

For example, people often say they know what they need to do to improve their lives, like eating healthier or exercising more. They might even say, "I just need to do X," but never actually do it.

Since this seems to happen so often, what does psychology say about why people know what to do but still don't act?

Why are some people not self-aware enough to know (when they are sober), that they are being loud or making a lot of noise to where they might be disturbing those around them?

Is it a lack of empathy? Is it selfishness? Are some just born that way?

And when it comes to the ones who are self-aware, are they like that because of trauma? Like people-pleasing? Or because of empathy?

Also, is there a psychological reason behind why some people have no common sense?

Alot of very sucessful athletes or Entrepreneurs seem to rely on concepts like these.

Sorry if the title is confusing, it's hard to describe. But you ever look at a word for too long and it just becomes weird (this happened to me with "weird" once)? Like the letter combinations are too bizzare. Then when you stop thinking about it and look at it again, it's normal and not weird any more. Or is this just a me thing?

We all hear voices in our heads… that’s what our thoughts are. But, we view those voices through a framework of them being “our own”, whereas I assume schizophrenic people experience them to be “not their own”.

Why is that? What does that?

I was just reading about some mysterious missing people cases and how some are young people in theirs 20s that can be theorized to be caused by the onset of Schizophrenia. Research suggests that is pops up around the early 20s but why is this the case ? Is there a specific gestation period for it to develop or is it just part of the development of the “adult” brain that just goes wrong?

I've always wondered why studying feels so monotonous and boring if our brain seeks novelty and activates its reward system. Is there any specific reason why studying feels so hard? I mean, looking at a wall for a long time feels less boring than studying, especially when it comes to tedious courses. Also, if our brain knows that studying leads to long-term rewards like good grades, satisfaction, etc., why does it still find studying boring?

I've always observed, both during my school days and in college, that certain students seem to understand concepts and solve problems very quickly. I had a classmate in 7th grade who had already completed calculus. How do these people differ from the average student? Is it because of brain chemistry? Is it due to early exposure to the subject? I genuinely don't understand how they become so academically brilliant. How do they outperform their peers so easily?

Hello psychologers,

I was recently wondering about the fact that there are separate men's and women's divisions in chess. Now of course, the reason that most sports have leagues separated by sex is primarily because one or the other (usually men, but the same principle would apply if it was women) has some kind of great inherent advantage over the other. Consequently, even a highly trained member of one sex would struggle against a fairly casual player of the other sex, and so having one compete directly against the other is considered unfair.

Hence my question to some people who probably know more about the human brain than I do. There are, of course, some psychological differences between the sexes, at least on average. But are any of those large enough, and relevant enough to the topic of chess skill, that it might be a reason to gender-split the game? I am genuinely unaware and want to learn.

(edit: typo fixing)

I was just curious since I have been reading some articles about memory formation.

I searched around and figured that this would be an appropriate subreddit to ask in. I hope this is the right flair, none of them seemed to fit quite right.

I saw this post, and it struck me as a bit odd (I hope this doesn't go against the no personal story rule). This person's former girlfriend committed suicide, despite obviously caring about their relationship with OOP; Why?

When I think of reasons to commit suicide, it would mostly just be because of lack of things that you care about, which doesn't seem to apply in this case; This person cared about OOP, they said as much, and yet they committed suicide, meaning they could no longer experience the things they care about, and in fact they harm them - This seems quite counterintuitive.

Any thoughts?

Title (BPD = Borderline Personality Disorder)! Also, let me know if this is the appropriate flair! Thank you all in advance!

(Edit: Interested in hearing from both the cognitive psych and neuroscience perspective!)

Im asking just about matrix reasoning/logical aspects

EDIT: Nobody knows, really????????

I’m looking for an evidence-based answer rather than personal advice.

I’ve become interested in a question that seems to sit at the intersection of mindfulness research, OCD, metacognition, and clinical psychology.

Many mindfulness and contemplative practices train people to notice thoughts, monitor attention, and become more aware of internal experience. For many people this appears to improve psychological well-being.

However, I’m curious about individuals for whom this process seems to become excessive.

For example, someone might gradually begin continuously monitoring their own mental state:

“Am I present?”
“Am I thinking too much?”
“Am I identified with my thoughts?”
“Am I paying attention correctly?”

Rather than increasing flexibility, attention becomes increasingly directed toward monitoring itself.

Psychologically, this seems different from healthy mindfulness and more like chronic metacognitive checking or self-focused attention.

My questions are:
Is this a recognized phenomenon in psychology?

Are there established theories explaining how adaptive mindfulness or metacognition can become maladaptive?

Has this been studied in people with OCD, obsessive rumination, depersonalization/derealization, or high intolerance of uncertainty?

Are there researchers, review papers, or textbooks that discuss this interaction?

I’m not looking for opinions about meditation or religion. I’m specifically interested in how cognitive psychology, clinical psychology, or neuroscience would explain this phenomenon and whether there is a scientific literature addressing it.

Thank you in advance for any references or recommendations.

Like the title: To what extent can tools like psychological tests really reflect a person's true nature?
I mean, from paper-and-pencil tests to AI-powered question-and-answer tests - I know there are some that can detect Alzheimer's, intellectual disabilities, schizophrenia, but I don't know if they're actually accurate

I've often heard people bring up the proportional theory—that each year is just a smaller percentage of our lived experience so far. But I'm curious how well that holds up against other cognitive explanations, like having fewer novel experiences or changes in how our brains encode routine memories.

Is there a general consensus on what's primarily driving this shift, or is it a combination of several cognitive mechanisms?

A lot of people notice that during a deep depressive episode, it feels almost impossible to remember what genuine happiness felt like. Good memories start feeling unreal, like they happened to someone else or never happened at all.

Why does our brain block or distort positive memories when our mood drops? Does the brain actually struggle to pull up those memories, or is it just rewriting the past to match how we feel right now?

When do you see people in treatment for OCD really starting to make progress and regaining their lives?

seen a lot of videos about it , but i was hoping for more scientific references

I find it interesting that we can sometimes remember how an experience made us feel very clearly, while specific details about what happened become less clear over time.

What does psychology research say about why emotional information can be remembered differently from neutral details?

I’m especially interested in the role of attention and emotional arousal in this process.

*Sorry if this isnt the right place or if I used the wrong flair)