The 4 definitive tricks to parking when there is no space, according to a behavioral psychologist

Parking quickly in a crowded space is more about psychology than skill. Do you wait for someone to come out, or do you walk around looking for a place?

Andrew Velkey, professor of psychology at Christopher Newport University, in Virginia (United States), he has spent hours sitting in numerous shopping center parking lots, as explained en NBC News.

I wasn’t looking for a place, but studying driver behavior. How they react when they want to park, and there is no space.

There are many decisions to be made, and it is not easy to know which is the best. Do I wait for someone to come out? Am I going around the parking lot until I see a place? Do I park in the one that is very far from the entrance, or do I keep looking to see if I can find another one closer?

Professor Andrew Velkey ​​has tried to discover why many drivers are obsessed with parking near the entrance of the enclosures, even if they take time to do it.

He thinks it’s because parking in a highly desirable spot releases more dopamine in brain regions associated with reward and pleasure, the same pathway that is likely involved in addictions like gambling and drugs.

This is what makes Let’s remember when we parked in a good spot, and maybe when we do it in a bad, but the brain forgets the intermediate sites.

The conclusion of this expert is that we overestimate our ability to find a good site to park near the door, and we do not give priority to intermediate places.

In short: we are not very good at making parking decisions.

This is the advice of psychologist Andrew Velkey, to find parking as fast as possible:

• Park without a second thought in the first space you see, no matter where you are
• On days with many people, for example during sales or rush hour, it is better to wait for someone to leave, instead of going around or changing sections
• Instead of looking for the row right next to the store entrance, move to the sides. You will probably get a space closer to the door.
• Don’t honk your horn or be impatient while waiting: people who feel pressured tend to slow down, because they get nervous, or to annoy…

The next time you are looking for a place in a crowded parking lot, follow these simple rules, and see if it takes you less than usual…

And you become obsessed with parking near the door, possibly you will lose more time than desired.