"Learned optimism is psychologically healthier than pessimism
or learned helplessness."
"The problem with learned helplessness is that is stops
us from recognizing when we really can make a difference."
"Instead of feeling that things are bound to be unpleasant,
we can learn to hope for the best and see the good side. That would
help all of us to live longer."
"Research has shown that people who take a positive outlook
recover better from cancers and other illnesses than people who are depressed
or anxious. That says a lot about the power of positive thinking
and why we should all try to do it."
"Our brain and nervous system works by electrical activity
and each of us generates a very weak electrical field. This might
be why some people who live too near power lines become depressed or ill,
but recover when they move away from them."
"Everyone dreams, even people who insist that they don't.
We only remember our dreams if we wake up from them. If we wake up
from another point in the sleep cycle, it feels as though we haven't been
dreaming at all."
"Habits can be broken, though; we're not stuck with them
forever."
"Breaking a habit involves replacing the actions or feelings
which are triggered off by that situation, with some other actions or feelings.
It is hard at first, but the more often you succeed, the weaker the original
habit become."
"Habits are strongly learned behaviours which can act
as motives, but can be changed by deliberate action or relearning."
"The way that we think also sometimes motivates us into
action."
"Believing in your own capabilities is an important part
of positive thinking."
"It's actually better to overestimate your abilities than
to underestimate them, because that means you will try harder, and so will
be more likely to succeed."
"The way that we hate to look stupid in front of other
people and the lengths we will go to avoid it, shows just how important
social respect is a motivator for human beings."
"Motivation is increased when people believe their actions
can be effective. These are known as self-efficacy beliefs."
"All our memories are linked with other ones, in some
way. So one bit of information can be a cue which helps you to remember
quite a lot of others."
"In fact, all of us have extremely good memories, for
things that we are interested in! Even someone who thinks they have
a bad memory has no problem remembering their social life, and what has
been happening lately among their friends, because they are interested
in it."
"Humans, as highly adaptable animals have alots of different ways of learning. We've inherited the primitive mechanisms of early animals; the more sophisticated ones of higher animals, and also our own social and cultural ones. It's having all these different learning abilities together that make us so special."
Written by Nicky Hayes
Teach
Yourself Psychology
