1. Why does the level of fondness decrease as we get to know someone better?

Intuitively, the longer we get along with someone and the more we know about them, the more we should like them.

A study in 1992 showed that simply being exposed to someone can increase our liking for them. Researchers called this phenomenon the “mere exposure effect”.

A survey by scholars such as Michael I. Norton from Harvard Business School also supports this explanation - 81% of online dating site members prefer familiar people when choosing a dating partner, and 88% of college students believe that their level of fondness for others will increase as they get to know them better.

However, in another study, participants were randomly given a “resume” of a person, which contained only 4 - 10 pieces of information about this person's traits. Interestingly, the more traits the participants knew, the less they liked this person.

Even if these traits were generally positive, the participants still preferred the shorter “resume”, which means that perhaps the less we know, the higher the level of fondness.

In subsequent studies, researchers found that similarity plays an important role in the relationship between the amount of information and the level of fondness. Ideally, when the “resume” is similar to the participants' self - descriptions of their traits, an increase in the amount of information can indeed enhance the level of fondness. However, in reality, as the amount of information increases, the similarity between people drops sharply, resulting in a negative correlation between the amount of information and the level of fondness.

Analysis of online dating data also found that after a date, both the level of fondness and the perceived level of similarity between the two parties decreased significantly. On average, the level of understanding of the dating partner increased from 50% before the date to 60% after the date, while their level of liking decreased from 70% to 50%.

Researchers said that there is a cascading effect of differential information: early differential information will significantly affect people's judgment of the difference in subsequent information. That is to say, if your first impression of someone is “I'm different from him”, then more information will hardly bring good results.

It is precisely because of this mechanism that we can quickly distinguish between those we don't like and those we hope to know more about during a date.

People naturally assume that others are similar to themselves, but the more they get to know a stranger, the greater the differences in taste and views between the two sides, and the greater the differences people realize, the less they like each other.

So is it necessarily an illusion that “the more we know, the more we like”?

Of course not.

Although differences and disagreements can affect the level of fondness, we still continue to try to make new friends or develop a new intimate relationship. Because smooth similarity is not the highest pursuit in getting along. What drives us is optimism and the hope of establishing meaningful connections.

It is this hope that makes us remember those strong bonds formed through deeper understanding, rather than excluding most people just because of the lack of similarity.

2. Gesturing while speaking makes social interaction more efficient

As we all know, if you tie an Italian's hands, they won't be able to speak.

A recent study found that gesturing while speaking may really have something in terms of conveying information.

During the research, scholars from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Germany created a virtual character specifically for asking questions to participants.

For example, participants would be asked: “At what age did you learn to type?”

When saying “type”, the virtual character would randomly make hand movements. It could be the “typing” movement of tapping the keyboard or a meaningless movement like scratching the palm.

The results showed that when participants saw meaningful gestures, the accuracy rate of predicting the target word was 23%, while for random gestures it was 7%. Moreover, even if the prediction was wrong, meaningful gestures could improve the semantic similarity between the answer and the target word.

Through the analysis of participants' brain - electrical activities, researchers found that meaningful gestures significantly reduced the time for the brain to process information (this process is mostly measured in milliseconds). When people saw the gestures, they had already entered the preparatory stage for processing language information (that is, the prediction stage). At the same time, gestures also simplified the process of semantic integration.

Researchers believe that using meaningful symbolic gestures helps people get more accurate responses more quickly in conversations, which reflects the multimodal nature of human communication. That is, people convey information through various channels, not just through language.

Marlijn ter Bekke, the first author of the article, believes that this study provides a direction for the development of artificial intelligence (including virtual characters and humanoid robots): “If we want artificial intelligence agents to be easily understood and communicate in a human - like way, then they should communicate not only through language but also through meaningful gestures.”

3. Forgetting the way may be due to eating too much sugar

A high - fat and high - sugar diet (HFHS) not only makes people gain weight but also damages cognitive function.

In a study at the University of Sydney, researchers explored the relationship between the HFHS diet and first - person spatial navigation ability. Spatial navigation ability refers to the ability of people to learn and remember the path from one place to another. This ability is often used to describe the health level of the hippocampus in the brain related to memory.

The research team recruited 55 college students aged between 18 and 38. Each participant completed a questionnaire about their sugar and fat intake in daily diet and their body mass index (BMI) was measured.

Subsequently, the participants needed to complete a maze exploration task. They needed to find the location of the “treasure” according to the landmarks and paths in their memory after getting familiar with the “treasure map”.

The results showed that those with a lower fat and sugar content in their diet completed the treasure - hunting task more accurately.

Specifically, the HFHS diet reduced people's ability to learn the map, making them need more time and attempts to remember the map. In the test stage, the spatial memory accuracy of the HFHS group was lower than that of the control group.

The less bad news is that this reduction in memory ability is limited to spatial geometric information and does not include general memory, such as object recognition.

Excessive intake of refined sugar and saturated fat increases the risk of obesity, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, and certain cancers. Existing studies have also proved that these unhealthy eating habits will accelerate age - related cognitive decline in middle - aged and elderly people.

This study shows for the first time that diet is also important for the brain health of young adults, even though cognitive function is usually intact and not yet aging at this stage.

4. Anxiety may be a precursor to depression

If anxiety is not resolved, it often doesn't disappear but turns into depression, which is a silent breakdown.

Anxiety that starts with worry, stress, and overthinking eventually turns into exhaustion, numbness, and sadness. Whether at the age of 9, 19, or 49, uncontrolled anxiety will quietly consume hope.

Statistically, the lifetime comorbidity rate of social anxiety disorder and depressive disorder is between 20% and 70%. Social phobia disorder may increase the risk of major depressive disorder by 5.7 times. The comorbidity rate of panic disorder and depressive disorder is 50%, and the comorbidity rate of generalized anxiety disorder patients is 43%.

Psychologist Jeffrey Bernstein observed the process of this transformation in his many years of work.

Anxiety keeps the brain active, overthinking, looking for threats, and constantly assuming the worst - case scenario, which consumes both mental and physical energy.

When this tension persists, it often makes people exhausted. At this time, depression will intervene. It is almost like an emergency brake for the body's emotions. Therefore, anxiety and depression are often linked - anxiety depletes energy, and depression shuts down the system completely.

The bad thing is that many people's lives are often driven by anxiety until this burden becomes unbearable.

Jeffrey Bernstein believes that this transformation often has the following characteristics:

Behavioral changes. A once - anxious person becomes aloof and cold, which indicates that he may be experiencing emotional exhaustion;

Loss of joy or interest. Things that once brought fun gradually disappear;

Emotional apathy, frequent crying, numbness, and not caring at all;

Social withdrawal and isolation - especially isolation resulting from the transformation of social anxiety is a danger signal;

The key to preventing the transformation from anxiety to depression lies in early detection and support:

Don't underestimate anxiety. Don't brush it off with “I'm okay” or “I'm just a little stressed”;

Pay attention to emotional changes. Emotional changes are more subtle but often precede behavioral changes;

Take action early. Even if things seem and feel “not that bad”, it is necessary to pay attention;

Learn how to cope with and manage your stress and worries;

Anxiety can make everything very difficult, but it doesn't necessarily develop into depression. Attention and support are enough to bring about effective changes.