BPS Research Digest: We're happier when we chat to strangers, but our instinct is to ignore them It's become a truism that humans are "social animals". And yet, you've probably noticed - people on public transport or in waiting rooms seem to do everything they can not to interact. On the London tube there's an unwritten rule not to even look at one another. This is the paradox explored by Nicholas Epley and Juliana Schroeder in a series of nine new studies involving members of the public on trains, planes, in taxis and a waiting room. The investigation began with rail and bus commuters travelling into Chicago. Dozens of them were recruited into one of three conditions - to engage in conversation with a stranger on the train, sit in solitude, or simply behave as they usually would. The returned questionnaires showed it was those commuters who were instructed to strike up conversation with a stranger who'd had the most positive experiences (sitting in solitude was the least enjoyable, with behaving as normal scoring in between). Of course one can look for loopholes in these studies.
England riots: Timeline and map of violence Riots in London and around the country saw widespread looting and buildings set alight. Dozens were left homeless after a night of riots on the streets of Tottenham after a peaceful demonstration on 6 August over the death of a man who was shot by police turned violent. Here is a timeline of what happened, starting with most recent events. 00:22 BST - The Metropolitan Police say 1,103 people have now been arrested in connection with the riots and 654 people have been charged. Greater Manchester Police said they had so far made 147 arrests and more than 70 people had already gone through the courts. The night passes off peacefully - with officers still on the streets in large numbers. 21:50 BST - Metropolitan Police now say 1,009 people have been arrested in connection with the riots - and 464 have been charged so far. 20:04 BST - The debate concludes and the Commons adjourns. 10:57 BST - Housing minister Grant Shapps says 100 families have been made homeless following the disturbances.
Intergroup Monopoly: A Lesson on the Enduring Effects of Inequality — Action Teaching Phase 1: Open Discrimination In the first phase, students are randomly assigned to one of five positions (the Banker and Players 1 through 4). The Banker is essentially an observer, and Player 1 plays according to normal Monopoly rules. Players 2 and 3 are overtly disadvantaged, and Player 4 is privileged relative to other players. For instance, Player 4 receives $350 for passing Go (well above the standard $200) and is permitted to buy houses and hotels two for one. Player 2 has rules such as "You can only move half the amount you roll" and "You can only buy property priced less than $150." In order to make the game move quickly, players begin with some property already distributed. Phase 2: Equal Opportunity In the second phase, which lasts 5-10 minutes longer than the first phase, I tell the class that all forms of unequal treatment have now been ended. Debriefing Tips on Implementation It's important to allow enough time for the initial set-up. Evaluation Magie, L. (1902, Autumn).
Milgram experiment (Wikipedia) Series of social psychology experiments Beginning on August 7, 1961, a series of social psychology experiments were conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram, who intended to measure the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts conflicting with their personal conscience. Participants were led to believe that they were assisting an unrelated experiment, in which they had to administer electric shocks to a "learner". These sham or fake electric shocks gradually increased to levels that would have been fatal had they been real.[2] The experiments found, unexpectedly, that a very high proportion of subjects would fully obey the instructions, with every participant going up to 300 volts, and 65% going up to the full 450 volts. Procedure[edit] Three individuals took part in each session of the experiment: The "experimenter", who was in charge of the session.The "teacher", a volunteer for a single session. Predictions[edit]
"Cyranoids": Stanley Milgram's Creepiest Experiment - Neuroskeptic Imagine that someone else was controlling your actions. You would still look like you, and sound like you, but you wouldn’t be the one deciding what you did and what you said. Now consider: would anyone notice the difference? In this nightmarish scenario, you would be a “cyranoid” – in the terminology introduced by psychologist Stanley Milgram when he suggested that cyranoids – or at least, an approximation of them – could be a powerful research tool in psychology. Milgram is best known for his obedience experiments in which he convinced (or, perhaps, tricked) dozens of ordinary people to administer agonizing electrical shocks to an innocent victim. In fact, the shocks were faked and no-one got hurt, but the study quickly became infamous. By contrast, Milgram’s cyranoids never got much attention. So what is a cyranoid? The theatrical Cyrano whispered his instructions into his proxy’s ear. Milgram claimed that people who meet a cyranoid are unable to detect the trick. “Very intelligent.
Can you solve the prisoner hat riddle? - Alex Gendler The ‘prisoners and hats puzzle’ is a classic logic problem with many variants, some of which are described and summarized here. Like other puzzles where each player has information about the other players but not about themselves, they rely on inductive logic and the hierarchy of beliefs to figure out the other players’ thought processes to deduce the missing information. Just remember – if you try to stump other people with this kind of puzzle, make sure you have the right answer yourself. Love the challenge of this riddle? Can you solve the bridge riddle?
Milgram vocab Why can't we trust what we see? Witnesses to a "murder" were tested on their powers of recollection The human memory can be impressive, but it is equally prone to letting us down. Now groundbreaking research has revealed the extent of just how fragile it can be - and how to use it better. You're in the pub and trouble starts. It's long been accepted that eyewitness testimony may not always be as reliable as it seems. But however fallible human memory is, it's often the only thing police have to go on and eyewitnesses have been responsible for sending people to prison ever since the justice system began - both rightly and wrongly. Now research has gone further than ever before to understand the fragile nature of our powers of recall. The project - involving the Open University, the BBC and Greater Manchester Police (GMP) - is groundbreaking in several ways. 'Appalling' In this case the important action took place when they were least expecting it. 'Lifeblood' 'Empty the head' Below is a selection of your comments.