Ho-ho-ho and a happy, jolly Christmas to you! Feel warm and fuzzy inside already? But why?
What is it about this time of the year that brings out the best out of those around you?
We live in a time of change. Even so, there is one thing that has remained virtually the same: celebrating Christmas. Even with religion taking a less prominent role in western societies, the enthusiasm and joy around the holidays prevails.
The popularity of holidays such as Christmas is partly attributed to psychology. After all, there is no rational reason to celebrate a bearded man coming down your chimney.
Humans are creatures of habit. We tend to hold onto things that are familiar and easy.
Our brains are wired to use cognitive biases to move with ease through life. The holiday season is no exception.
At Crobox, we often talk about “cognitive biases” and their impact on decision-making and attitudes.
This term may need a bit of clarification.
Cognitive biases are mistakes in cognitive processes like reasoning, evaluating, and remembering. These can be the result of automatic processes that happen within our subconscious mind and are often based off of a person’s preferences and beliefs.
With this in mind, it’s worth noting that not everyone has the same cognitive biases because we don’t all have the same experiences to shape our beliefs. It’s a balanced mix of a person’s nature and nurture.
Traditions shape our actions.
Christmas tradition in Caracas: Roller skating.
Those of us who do celebrate the holidays can probably all relate to the traditions that come along with it.
My family is big on traditions.
Since before I was born, all of us cousins would go to McDonald's on Christmas Eve with our uncle. We'd write our letters to “Santa” and proceed to the mall to sit on his lap and give them to him.
Now, you have to imagine; we had this tradition long into the adult lives of many of my cousins. Thankfully, however, I am the youngest. So by the time I was about 21 (with the oldest being well into their 30s), we stopped this tradition and decided we’d just eat a nice lunch at a (non-fast-food) restaurant instead.
So you may be asking, “Why would these grown adults go sit on a fake Santa’s lap for so long?” Well, to put it bluntly, we just couldn’t bear letting go of this tradition. It would feel as if we were letting go of parts of our childhoods - parts of our constructed selves. READ MORE...
