Clearly we now need a Scishow Psych on the smutty misreading of long title words.

Wouldn't misattribution explain the Stockholm syndrome? People confusing the fear caused by a kidnapper or robber with love for said kidnapper or robber?

Funny how the moment I was thinking "aaah so this is why horror movies work so well" she brought up horror movies, and said to not intentionally scare your date (not that I would ever do such a thing anyway).

This TOTALLY makes sense now! There's a guy I initially thought I had a crush on because I would become a jibbering wreck when I saw him - shaking, heart pounding etc. But the thought of doing anything intimate with him kind of grossed me out. Yet, I'd react the same way every single time I saw him. I figured out later that it was more linked to social anxiety and intimidation because he's absolutely gorgeous and rather well-off. Totally misattributed that! 😂 (I'm comforted by the fact that it's a known phenomenon and not just some inexplicable weirdness on mt part... 😅)

I thought I was in love with the guy that bullied me when I was in elementary, I was actually terrified of him, so scared that any time I saw him I would start shaking and sweating and some times even have difficulty to breathe, I thought that was how love felt but I was just scared of him since he had been so bad to me... I think it was almost like the Stockholm syndrome for some people

This theory sorta lends some credibility to that annoying trope in action movies where during/after natural disasters or adrenaline filled chase scenes, the two lead characters pretty much always hook up; even though the audience doesn't feel like it's earned at all. "Ah see, in fact they were just misinterpreting their cold sweats as hot sweats"

Misattribution not only applies to fear and love but to all emotions, like when you misattribute your anxiety to a social event, really interesting topic.

This is likely one (of many) reasons for why Domestic abuse happens so often between partners. Men who do this are finding the woman’s fear attractive bc arousal of fear is being mistaken for passion, the two emotions having the same physiological characteristics. It may be the reason why some women don’t leave those man, mistaking it as love or passion.

lol I love how they interrupt the video to really hammer home the "don't do it" bit XD

100% of the comments are about misreading the title as Masturbation

This happens to me a lot. I often travel in somewhat dangerous countries, and I often feel a strong emotional connection to the people I'm travelling with, even if I don't actually like them.

I stopped misattributing when I got married. Really. No, really, I did. I just take a long time in the shower.

Huh. Yeah, I'm just constantly anxious about everything. All the time. My two moods are 'depressed' and 'faking positivity really, really hard' with a constant buzz of anxiety overlaying everything

This is really cool. I’m currently reading a book called “Deeper then Reason: Emotion and it’s role in Literature, Music and Art” and something that the author talks about is how emotions are based off of an initial chemical reaction that gets sent to two parts of our brain, one which reacts, and one which is associated with higher functioning. So in the moment, we don’t really know what we’re experiencing, but then after the fact we use context clues to figure out what emotion we had. This is she refers to as ‘cognitive monitoring’. For example, if you step on a stick and it cracks loudly, you may have a reaction of increased adrenaline and a jump. Before you can understand that it was just a stick, you first experiance an initial response, which the author labels an “affective appraisal”. It isn’t until afterwards, sometimes almost immediately, that you recognize that your reaction was unwarranted and that you’re okay. But because of the physical reaction you had to the sound of the crack, you make a guess using “folk psychological” terms to determine that what you were experiencing was fear. But in actuality you may be incorrect. I think this really relates back to the video in that sometimes we mistake similar physical reactions from a certain type of emotion for something else. And a lot of that has to do with the fact that we don’t really know what we’re experiencing as we’re experiencing it and we may misinterpret context clues that allowed us to reach some sort of guess in the first place.

I thought this was about staying in a relationship due to fear of being alone...now I'm weirdly relieved

Where do I sign up for a study with a hoop-jumping ficus?

To me this explains abusive relationships. How and why someone could possibly still love someone who is abusing them. Obviously on some level they know it's harmful, but they probably often mistake their fear for love.

This reminds me of one of the Buddhist meditation method where a practitioners need to be aware of their body reaction which connected to feeling. For example, to help yourself acknowledge your anger (weather from the present situation or something experience you recalling in mind) is to be aware how your body felling more tight in the chest, harder and shorter breath, blood-rush; or other feeling as your body reacting through situation. These help you being aware of your feeling and identify it, and not let loose of your mind and sanity.

Had to double take the title

Gotta love the brain messing with us

As someone with HOCD, this happens to me all the time.

"What is Love? Baby don't hurt me... don't hurt me... no more."

I will definitely do that

I got this cool little trick i do sometimes that helps with my fear. Just replace feared outcome with the opposite, excited outcome. So if i fear getting killed, i replace it with im excited to *not* get killed. 👍👌

could this be one of the reasons why people stay in relationships that are less than ideal? (abusive)

I just read about the shakey bridge study in my sociology textbook yesterday, and this video explains it so much better it's ridiculous.

Do people who are more anxious get more crushes on random people they come across i wonder? 🤔

Showing people how to do something that’s advantageous to their goals, then telling them not to is a not so good idea. That’s like making a video detailing the best way to rob a bank then after saying, “This will improve your chances of getting away with it, it’s been tested, but DON’T DO IT!”

I MISSATRIBUTED the title of the video for 'something else' 😙

I knew some women who chose dorm rooms on the top floor so their dates would have racing hearts from climbing the stairs when they went to see them.

I can easily mix up being in love and being depressed.

So adventure films do make sense! You know, when characters all of a sudden start making out in the middle of mortal danger...

Perfect level of detail here to expose a non psych person to this stuff. Great work all around, SciShow Psych staff!

This is the first time I've watched this host, and I must say I really like her voice. Pleasant to hear and not too fast or slow

3:31 "It DEFINITELY doesn't mean that you should take your date somewhere creepy(/scare them) just to make them more attracted to you." In RED LETTERS: *"DO NOT DO THAT."*

If only I ever had someone to love. Well...

This is actually fascinating, it opens up a whole nother way of looking at love and fear, thank you a lot!

Love is that time of the night when you get home wasted and sleep in the coach, when you wake up is the hangover

I wonder if that's why serial killers get so many fans...

Definitely glad to know I’m not the only one who, at first glance, mis-read the title! :-)

Would you say this is what causes Stockholm syndrome?

I went on a date with a beautician named Audrey. The smell of nail polish remover made me light-headed, which I mistook for love. My experience with misattribution was... Miss-Audrey-Beautician.

Welp. I saw the title of the video and instantly related in reverse.

Every “meet cute” moment in romantic comedies is simply... misattribution. IT MAKES SENSE NOW

I wonder if this might be the reason I feel a deep-seated terror whenever I start to catch feelibgs for someone, or just a natural reaction due to some of the relationships I've been in. Maybe a bit of both?

Is this why the Ferris Wheel has become the amusement park ride of love

"Do not do that." Yeah, some people might not have figured that possibility, but you presented it, and now they know. Of course they won't do it...

As a dyslexic, I got shook for a sec.

It all makes sense now. I don't have an anxiety disorder, I'm in love with fear ;D

This completely explains something that happened to me. At the end of the video, I was like "ohhhhhhh!"

What is love? Baby don't hurt me Don't hurt me No more

I know my anxiety means I misattribute my excitement for stress or anxiety.

So many 'romance' stories explained.

I feel so good that I'm not the only one who misread it

Yeah, love is great. For people who still feel.

Good video this person is an awesome host!

this speaks to me. i almost never know why i'm feeling the why i am and i wish i could but i'm also tired of trying.

Psychopaths and narcissists apply this strategy really good.

What is the difference between anxiety and fear? In German we differentiate between a specific provocing thing and a general feeling.

So could this affect and be one of the causes of Stockholm Syndrome?

My favorite part of SciShow psych is "You don't have to worry about it. Stuff like this happens to everyone, and not very often. Stop panicking. Stop being your own psychologist I SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING PUT WEBMD DOWN"

How aboot an episode on intrusive thoughts? Like how I see me stabbing myself in the eye, whenever I pick up something sharp...

Pokémon XY(Z) uses this as a reason for Serena to love Ash. In her childhood she was lost and scared up to the point of crying, but then Ash showed up. The relief, happyness, recent anxiety get later mixed up as a feeling of love

The bridge study was done where I live!

There is plenty of anxiety intrinsic in the first phases of a close encounter--it brings up deeply-buried primal feelings connected with mom or primary caregiver. Thus our entire identity, our entire selfhood, is on the line...especially for those with a shaky sense of self. It's why the thrill wears off once we feel validated and accepted enough within a given relationship, and why we get more blasee about close encounters as we get older, if we have more than one relationship. (Not to say that misattribution isn't a "thing," but it's good to be clear that there's inherently a certain portion of fear in what we call love.)

The multitude of similar comments is why I read at least 10 comments before commenting the same sentiment as nearly 99% of people who commented.

This seems like a field of research that could very easily mistake correlation and causation. For example, the subjects getting off the roller-coaster who were more likely to rate a photo of a stranger as attractive. If you presume misattribution is the cause, then you could say the anxiety and/or thrill of the coaster was carried over to the experience of viewing said photo. However, it seems equally plausible that someone who chose to board a coaster did so for the enjoyment of it. Thus, when they exit the coaster, they may also simpler be in a better mood and thus more open to rating a photo of a complete stranger, presented to them by a complete stranger, as attractive.

But what is it called when you misattribute misattribution?

Let's not be down, though, on the feeling we experience just before going over that first hump on a roller-coaster. That feeling is anticipation, because the feeling we experience _while_ going over the hump is _excitement_ and _thrill!_

I love SciShow Psych. No... wait, WHAT?!

I used to have severe panic attacks when I was younger, because I was misinterpreting anxiety as a physical illness. Some minor pain would trigger anxiety and lead me to believe I was actually sick, then the anxiety would intensify rapidly and eventually put me in the hospital. So, I was panicking to the point of sustained physical pain (this was all brought on by a general fear of death). Once I was diagnosed, I stopped having panic attacks, because I knew there wasn't any actual life threatening illness, It was just me psyching myself out. I still almost get them on rare occasions, but as soon as I realize what is going on, I just get it under control and it subsides.

i always had a hard time telling different emotions apart. this video has explained… a few experiences i had in high school lol

do a video explaining why "standing on a cliff, but completely relaxed" led me on a thought trail where I spaced out the video and imagined myself accidentally falling into the grand canyon and trying to save myself by slowing my fall. I had to force myself out of that mini thought rabbit trail. Yes, I do have an unhealthy and debilitating fear of death and falling from heights, so I'm sure that's related. These kinds of "thought rabbit trails" happen to me a lot, mostly concerning my fears of dying, losing people, falling, drowning, etc, but usually not lasting long and not quite like the thought spirals that John Green has shared about. But still, I would love some sciencey-details on these things... and also maybe a therapist...

thanks for the great explanation

I'm glad that my love feels absolutely NOTHING like fear. My anxiety disorder would make that literally torture, and not something I would ever pursue.

I'll take your word on it that this happens to people, but from my own experience it seems absurd that you could be confused about what you're feeling. Of course, as a person who enjoys that little rush from being genuinely frightened, I've sort of become numb to most fear-stimuli. But I've also never felt "nervous" as part of attraction... for me it's something I arrive at after several interactions where I've gotten a decent feel for the personality (i.e., at a point where I feel confident that it's not just an act). Nervousness in general is very rare for me. I'm usually pretty relaxed and pragmatic... and get lost in thought.

Oh. Is this why I run from the ones I love? Okay.

Very fascinating video!

If u mean that fear can bring people together & thus people mistake that for love: it happens sometimes, fear of being lonely, fear of facing dangers alone, fear of defeated by a common enemy, that's why horror & adventure movies always have this ( romantic relationship) develops usually between a man and a woman facing a common danger; for instance, while hiding from a monster, an alien or a natural disaster ( like the 2 main characters in Titanic), and the only way to test if it's love or not, is when that fear is gone, Would love remain?!

I thought the exercise study would have felt more arroused since many people think of sex as exercise so they would be "warmed up" kind of like foreplay.

Ugh research like this was why I dropped out of my psych degree. Too many conclusions with words like "probably" and "might have". Also ethics boards halted progress.

Wow! You are a really good presenter. Good job!!!

Let's be honest, we're all taking our dates on rollercoasters now.

Another good one, thanks! :)

Very interesting. Thank you for sharing.

When I was in 8th grade, a new guy joined our class in the middle of the year and he sat right next to me. I talked to him for a bit, and after a day or two, I thought I hated him. I didn't know why, it was just a feeling I got. After he moved away, my friends where talking about him, I realized that I actually missed him. I think I mixed up my feelings of a crush on him for hatred.

I've done this, I had too much caffeine and confused my heart racing and sweating as anxiety

What date?

Sadly this sort of explains a lot regarding my disastrous relationships ..

Did anyone else read "Masturbation" at first glance in the thumbnail?

This is not likely the same thing, but my mind will misattribute a lack of reply all the time. I've gotten much better at seeing it, though.

Didn't find the explanation of the Schachter Singer model very clear. It's a very odd theory when you first hear it because it totally turns around our common conception of what emotions are and how we experience them. I know about this and other theories from uni (I study psychology) and it took me a while to get this one. One example I have experienced myself is when I consume caffeine. My heart starts beating faster and I get super fidgety but not really awake or energetic. So one time I was just chilling around but constantly felt on edge and like I had to be vigilant all the time. That was me misinterpreting my body's physical reaction to caffeine as fear/anxiety.

Ahahahaha I'm going to do exactly what you asked us not to do xD

Mis read title...

I defiantly had to read that twice

Dam, I would have liked a ficus jumping through hoops.

can I use this to trick myselfe to like a good person? i sadly only find way to controling people attrctive (yes, i have some issues to work through), but can i try to trick myselfe into liking someone who I know is a great, kind and genuin person and i should like, but since i apparently can only feel unhealty attrcktion i was wandering if i can use this to trick myslefe into liking a decent person...

I suppose I'm not a great example, because I have alexithymia, but one time I thought I was feeling dread/nervousness when in retrospect it was probably some form of sadness/grief (a family member had just died).

Since the release of this video there's been a 300% rise in men taking their partners to dates in dark allies and horror houses in hopes of getting it on.

Love and fear are two completely different feelings. Fear feels tense and raises your anxiety, love feels warm and relaxes you. Do people really mix up these two feelings?