The scientists explained why we sometimes put the car keys in the fridge or pour the milk in a bin instead of a cup.
Such embarrassments occur from time to time with many people, says Business Insider. As a rule, people explain them with usual carelessness, but researchers from the University of Plymouth in the UK found that the reason for this behavior lies in the field of ideomotorics - the connection of the performed movements with the idea of their implementation.
According to scientists, a person controls his actions using the so-called "mental imagery" (mental imagery). This means that the images in his head directly affect his actions, and if these images for some reason turn out to be incorrect, the likelihood of making a ridiculous action increases noticeably.
To test this hypothesis, the scientists conducted an experiment: 32 students had to tap with their fingers, repeating certain combinations of movements for the researchers. At the same time, students were shown pictures on which incorrect combinations of movements were depicted. Despite the fact that the participants in the experiment were warned about the possible impact of these images and asked to adhere to the necessary sequence, they still involuntarily copied the movements from the pictures.
Thus, the researchers proved that when we plan to perform a certain action, we create a powerful mental image of the future action. When these actions are repeated on a regular basis (for example, we brush our teeth every day or make tea), a kind of autopilot mode turns on - instead of consciousness they begin to control the images created by the mental imagination.
But sometimes in these images errors creep in - they can be caused by extraneous thoughts, words of others or even songs that sound on the radio (in the experiment mentioned above, scientists made mistakes deliberately). And then we do something that greatly surprises us.