Helloooo Humanss!!
Belief. A word that can be powerful when given meaning to it, a tool that could even lead you to victory...
Okay, so you're thinking I'm being too emotional and soppy on a random Sunday night, while I agree that the above master-piece-of-a-line is quite cringe (for some people), there is a degree of truth behind my claims. Backed up by a psychology study!
Yes, I am currently studying psychology (at ib H-level so nothing too spectacular), but I found this specific study quite intriguing.
Although, most of the studies we look at are intriguing, this one in particular links quite well to todays topic, so here I am, sharing this study with you, and you know, I might as well get in a bit of psych revision while I am at it.
Let me set the scene for you: it's 2002 and a random dude called Leuchter et al. with his group of besties (not 100% true) aimed to investigate the changes in brain activity of depressed patients during treatment with a placebo.
So..we've got a lot to unpack: Leuchter et al. used a group of 51 patients suffering with depression and either gave them a placebo (fake sugar pill imitating antidepressant medication) or an active antidepressant medication and they used a brain scan (an EEG) to measure their brain activity.
I hope yall are still with me here, but not to fear (that rhymed), it gets easier from here!
This was a process (prescribing placebo or antidepressants) that was repeated for 9 weeks. Then the brain activity of the patients was compared between the beginning of the trial to the end. By the way, brain activity was measured in order to deduce whether there was an increase in activity in the prefrontal cortex-.....basically to see if there was a difference in emotions before and after the placebo or drug (as depressed patients would have low activity in the front area of the brain). The interesting thing is, after 9 weeks, both the groups were effected positively and got better.
Why is that even a big deal?
Well, the fact that both groups of patients got better with or without the antidepressant suggests that the brain could heal itself and make itself better without medication!
And do you know how?
Through the power of belief - by believing that they were being treated, many patients got better.
Did I just explain a full blown psychology study just for this reference? Yes. Yes I did.
I'm not saying that just by believing in yourself that you are going to pass tomorrows very difficult test, but I am saying that believing in yourself can have a significant impact and self-belief definitely correlates with a good, positive mindset which can cause better performance.
And of course, as for your test, a bit of self-belief is all the motivation you need to get through those battering revision sessions for your test, especially when you are starting to question your life choices of picking that subject.
So believe, let your amazing brain do its thing by giving this word power and meaning, and use this tool to your advantage.
- Ravitreni Signing Off
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