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 … 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 … 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 … 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 … 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 … 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 … 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 … 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 … Read More
Situation, Disposition, & the Fundamental Attribution Error
In this video I consider how we explain the causes of events and behaviors and whether we focus on disposition or situation. The Fundamental Attribution Error suggests that we have a tendency to focus on dispositional explanations and ignore situational factors. This was demonstrated in Ross, Amabile, & Steinmetz’s 1977 … Read More
Attractiveness
In this video I discuss attractiveness. I begin by discussing the halo effect; the idea that physically attractive people are often perceived as having other positive qualities such as being smarter or more outgoing. Next I consider which physical traits are universally considered attractive. Symmetry represents an important marker of … Read More