Social Psychology Practice Questions

This video covers 10 practice multiple choice questions on social psychology and includes questions related to conformity, cultural dimensions, persuasion, attribution theory, and more. I hope this can help you to review your knowledge and understanding, let me know if you have any suggestions for future practice and review videos! Get a free PDF with the questions and answers here: … Read More

Altruism & Prosocial Behavior

In this video I discuss how prosocial behavior is a commonplace but important part of life and we shouldn’t forget that every day billions of people come together and help one another. What explains this altruistic behavior? Kin selection theory suggests that helping family to survive and mate is another way of helping to pass on one’s own genes. People … Read More

The Bystander Effect

In this video I discuss the bystander effect, which refers to a tendency for people to fail to act or help someone in need when in the presence of others. I begin with the famous story of Kitty Genovese, then consider experiments by John Darley and Bibb Latane demonstrating how the presence of others can inhibit action, even when one’s … Read More

The Stanford Prison Study

In this video I discuss the Stanford Prison Study conducted by Philip Zimbardo and colleagues at Stanford University. Psychologically-healthy college-aged male participants were randomly assigned to the roles of prisoners and guards for a 2 week study. The prisoners were arrested and brought to the basement of the psychology building and placed into mock cells. The guards were given sunglasses, … Read More

Crowd Behavior & Deindividuation

In this video I describe how crowds can encourage behaviors that individuals might not engage in alone. Part of the explanation for the emergence of behaviors like looting, theft, destruction, and violence in crowds in deindividuation. Deindividuation refers to a reduced feeling of individuality and a reduced sense of responsibility for one’s actions. Physical anonymity can increase feelings of deindividuation … Read More

Group Polarization

In this video I describe how group opinions and decisions can differ from those of the individuals who make up the group. Group polarization refers to the tendency of groups to become more extreme and more polarized than the original views of members. Groups also tend to be more tolerant of risk, known as risky shift. Polarization can still occur … Read More

The Implicit Association Test

In this video I discuss the implicit association test (IAT) as well as some of the controversies surrounding interpretations of results and widespread use of the test. Negative attitudes may not always be directly expressed and the implicit association test is meant to be a way of assessing negative attitudes in a way that is difficult to consciously suppress or … Read More

The Robbers Cave Study – Improving Group Relations

In this video I discuss Muzafer Sherif’s well-known field experiment on the reduction of group conflict conducted at Robbers Cave State Park in Oklahoma. In this study, two groups of boys, the Eagles and the Rattlers, were put into competition and conflict in order to create group hostility, then researchers attempted to reduce the tension between the groups. The results … Read More

Stereotypes, Prejudice, & Discrimination

In this video I discuss how our tendency to use heuristics, shortcuts, and assumptions to fill in the gaps in our knowledge reveals our reliance on stereotypes to understand the world. These can lead us to prejudice or discrimination when we make assumptions about people based on their groups. The Ultimate Attribution Error refers to our tendency to apply dispositional … Read More

Impression Formation

In this video I discuss how we form impressions of others and how quickly and accurately we are able to form impressions. Thin slices theory suggests that we’re able to form impressions fairly quickly, though it’s unclear if these first impressions are accurate, resistant to change, or strengthened by confirmation bias. Even single word descriptions such as “warm” or “cold” … Read More