 Psychology is popular and fascinating because it helps us to better understand ourselves, the people around us, makes us better communicators, and gives us insight into mental illness. Psychology is applied in every action we take. Want to make friends? Apply psychology. Want a thriving business? Apply psychology. Here are 5 psychological facts you might not have heard before. Did you know that people remember an average of 5,000 faces? A research team at University of York tested study participants at the mean age of 24 and how many faces they could recall from their personal lives. People they went to school with, family, colleagues, and the media, as well as the number of famous faces they recognized, whether it be actors, politicians, or any other public figures. The results showed that the participants knew between 1,000 and 10,000 faces. How many do you know? The range could be explained by the natural aptitude that some people have for remembering faces. There are differences in how efficiently people process the information and how much attention they pay to faces. Let's pretend it's snowing hard and you need yourself a new winter coat. You decide you saved up for a while and want to try this long, branded winter coat out. It's a long winter coat that hits at your ankle and you haven't seen anyone with it before. Now, with your new coat, you walk across your university campus and you see 1, 2, 3 girls with the same coat. What? Over the next week, you see it even more. People at the mall are wearing the same coat. People at your local supermarket are bundled up in their long coats too. Did everyone decide to get a long coat because you did? Welcome to the Bader-Meinhof Phenomenon, otherwise known as the Frequency Illusion or Recency Illusion. This phenomenon occurs when the thing you've just noticed, experienced or been told about suddenly seems to come up constantly. It gives us a feeling that out of nowhere, pretty much everyone and their cousin are talking about it. This phenomenon is caused by two processes. The first is selective attention. You have just come across something for the first time and you then unconsciously keep an eye out for it and as a result, find it surprisingly often. The second process is confirmation bias, in which you agree with information that confirms your existing beliefs that, yep, you are definitely seeing it more often and that the branded long coat you just purchased a week ago has gained overnight popularity. Time to buy another coat. The decoy effect, asymmetric dominance effect, labelled by researchers in 1982, is a cognitive bias which shows us that consumers can easily be tricked in paying more than we want to. Ever wonder why products usually come in threes? Behavioral economist Dan Ariely explained this phenomenon in one of his TED talks, where he used an old economist's advertisement as an example. The ad featured three subscription levels, $59 for online only, $159 for print only, and $159 for online and print. He figured that the option to pay $159 for print only exists so that it makes the option to pay $159 for both online and print look more enticing. Then it would have if it was just paired with the $59 online option only. Researchers at Western Sydney University and the University of Manchester examined the effects of aerobic exercise on a region of their brain called the hippocampus, which is critical for developing new memories and other brain functions. Brain health declines with age, with the average brain shrinking approximately 5% per decade after the age of 40. The researchers reviewed 14 clinical trials which examined brain scans of 737 people before and after aerobic exercise programs, like stationary cycling, walking, treadmill running, and those in control conditions. The results showed that, while exercise had no effect on the total volume of the hippocampus, it did significantly increase the size of the left region of the hippocampus and humans. The hippocampus is important not just for forming new memories, but also for retrieving old memories. Research shows that one of the first areas in the brain affected by Alzheimer's disease is the hippocampus. This explains why one of the early symptoms of Alzheimer's is often an impairment of memory, especially the formation of new memories. Alzheimer's is the most common cause of dementia. Researchers say one new case of dementia is detected every 4 seconds globally. The estimate is that by 2050, more than 115 million people will have dementia worldwide. Postdoctoral research fellow Joseph Firth said that when you exercise, you produce a chemical called brain-derived neurotrophic factor, BDNF, which may help prevent age-related decline by reducing the deterioration of the brain. This helps memory and thinking through both direct and indirect means. The benefits of exercise come directly from its ability to reduce insulin resistance, reduce inflammation and stimulate the release of growth factors, chemicals in the brain that affect the health of brain cells, the growth of new blood vessels in the brain, and even the abundance and survival of new brain cells. Indirectly, exercise improves mood and sleep and reduces anxiety and stress. So what should we do? Get to exercising. Standard recommendations advise 30 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week or 150 minutes per week. If that seems too much or overwhelming at the moment, start with a few minutes a day and increase by small 5-10 minute increments until you reach your goal. And lastly, one that we found to be more interesting is the Truman Show Delusion aka the Truman Syndrome is a delusion where a person believes that they are being watched on cameras, filmed and that the films are being broadcast for the entertainment of others. The Truman Show is a 1998 movie starring Jim Carrey, where the plot follows Truman Burbank. What Truman doesn't know is that every single person, other than himself, is an actor. And the island that he lives on is constructed under a massive dome where several thousands of cameras watched as every single move since birth and documented it on a TV show to the real world. Psychiatrists and brothers Ian and Joel Gold described the syndrome back in 2006. The delusions name came about based on the fact that 3 out of 5 of Joel Gold's initial patients referenced the Truman Show when they described their experiences. Joel Gold says, It's important to state that Truman Show delusion is a symptom of psychosis. People who choose to be the center of attention, have concerns about social standing, or who may fear being in public eye or seek it out, may be more drawn to identify with this delusion. I don't think people are making it up or choosing it. So that was 5 not so well known psych facts. Which one stuck with you the most? This is one of our many psychology facts series. If you enjoyed this and want to see more, let us know what you'd like to learn about in the comments below. Until next time.