21 mind-blowing psychology findings that explain the baffling choices you make every day

If you assume that you understand why you think and act the way you do, you're probably wrong.

Decades of psychological research suggest that people behave in ways that are mysterious and perplexing - even to themselves.

We sifted through the Quora thread, "What are some mind-blowing facts about social psychology?" and pulled out the most fascinating findings. (Some fall outside the realms of social psychology, but we thought they were worth including.)

Read on to find out why we label other people jerks and ourselves victims of circumstance; why powerful people are messier eaters; and why we'd rather give ourselves electric shocks than sit alone for 15 minutes (seriously).