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- [Instructor] Hey Psych2goers,

welcome back to another video.

Sometimes, it can be easy to underestimate

your own skills and capabilities.

But it's important to realize your true worth.

Only then can you confidently act

towards reaching your goals

and be the best version of yourself.

So to help you feel more confident in yourself,

we'll be talking about signs

that you may be more intelligent than you realize.

Number one, you're constantly curious.

Do you question a lot of things.

Numerous studies have shown that people

who are very curious are likely to be smarter.

This is because curious people are always striving

to learn new things

and to expand their knowledge.

Being curious will also help

you develop a more refined form of thinking,

as a direct result of expanding your knowledge

and being able to account for more possibilities.

Number two,

you know there are many things that you don't know.

There's a misconception that people

who say they know more than they do

come across as someone who is smart.

However, studies have shown

that this occurs due to an overestimation

of their cognitive abilities.

Instead, people who are more intelligent are not afraid

to admit that they don't know some things

since they have more accurate estimates

of their own knowledge.

This awareness will result in a motivation

to learn and try new things.

Number three, you can be funny.

Can you make a lot of people laugh?

A study by The University of New Mexico

found that funny people tend to be smarter.

This is attributed to the fact

that both cognitive and emotional ability is required

to process and produce humor.

Additionally, funny people not only make others laugh,

but they also laugh more themselves.

These positive emotions increase the production of dopamine,

which opens up the learning centers of the brain.

Number four, you have high self-control.

Do you make a lot of impulsive choices?

A study conducted by Yale university in 2009

supports the claim that intelligent people are better

at controlling themselves

to resist taking impulsive actions.

The study consisted of giving participants the choice

of receiving money immediately

or more at a later time.

The results found that people

who scored higher in the IQ test,

are more willing to wait

and receive more money later.

Number five, you're messy.

Did you know that Albert Einstein was known to be messy?

People generally link messiness with laziness.

However, a study in 2013 by Kathleen Vohs

showed that disorderly spaces can incentivize creativity,

as opposed to clean and tidy spaces

that incentivize playing it safe.

Also since messy people are used to disorderly environments,

they benefit from being able

to focus under different circumstances,

as opposed to people who can only be productive

in neat spaces.

Number six, you're fine being by yourself.

Do you enjoy spending time on your own?

According to a study published

by the British Journal of Psychology,

there's a strong correlation

between intelligence and independence.

Being alone gives you time to think and meditate on how

to approach your problems,

and what you would need

to complete the task most effectively.

Number seven, you procrastinate.

Do you always put things off until the last minute?

As opposed to what most people may think

those who procrastinate may actually be more intelligent

than you realize.

The time you spent stalling a task

allows for creative and innovative thinking

that may lead to more productive ideas.

By not jumping straight into completing a task,

procrastinators let more divergent ideas come forward,

so as to have a wider variety of options to choose from.

Number eight, you stay up late.

Do you often stay up late into the night?

Several studies have shown a direct correlation

between certain sleeping habits and IQ.

A study published in 2009 in the journal

of Personality and Individual Differences

showed that young adults who slept and woke up later,

had a higher IQ than those who slept and woke up earlier.

People who sleep late

tend to get bursts of inspiration

due to the quiet environment

where there are no distractions or obstacles

to their creative thinking.

Number nine, you took music lessons as a child.

Music lessons are believed

to help with children's mental development.

Since music is known to stimulate the left side

of the brain,

which helps with the development of language skills.

A study made by Glenn Schellenberg

consisted of comparing the IQ of children

who had nine months of music lessons

with children who did not take any music lessons.

And found that those who took music lessons

had a relevant IQ boost

as compared to the other group of children.

And number 10, you're left-handed.

Do you write with your left

or your right hand?

Research indicates that left-handed people

have a divergent way of thinking,

which allows them to solve problems

and tasks more creatively.

This is supported by a study conducted

by The University of Athens

who concluded,

left-handed people have high scores in divergent thinking

and cognitive ability.

Do you relate to any of the signs mentioned here?

Let us know in the comments below.

If you found this video helpful

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The references and studies used this video

are added in the description below.

Thanks for watching and we'll see you in our next video.