This past week it seems like people have been talking as much about Elliot Spitzer as they have about his wife Silda. In fact, emotions may be running higher about her behavior than about his. Why did she stand by and support him when it appears that he clearly betrayed her trust? Aside from gossip, what’s the tie-in to theories in psychology? Would you believe that the “Covariation Principle” can be applied to this and many similar situations where we are trying to figure out why people do what they do? Have a listen and learn how we use consensus, consistency and distinctiveness information to make important decisions.

Resources on the Covariation Principle

• This page from psychology instructor Jeffrey Ricker, Ph.D. contains a very clear and thorough explanation of the covariation principle.
• Good website which explains the covariation principle.

And here’s another excellent explanation of the covariation principle works. This is from a site called “CROW - Course Resources on the Web” which has lots of excellent resources on psychology.

Online discussions and Video regarding Silda’s actions

• Toby Harnden wrote an interesting article that spurred a lot of discussion. Very interesting to see people’s different perspectives on Silda’s actions.
• If nothing else, this video on YouTube shows how fast people put music and images together to express their opinions on the Spitzer situation.
• The video below might be a good way to start an exploration on the topic of internal vs. external attributions for Silda’s behavior. Was she, as one woman says, “crazy” or “insecure”, did she, as another person says, “not have a choice?”.

• The Monty Python sketch I referred to in this episode is called the String Sketch and while the audio is not available online (which is really the only way to get the most from the skit), the text is available here. You can buy the audio for 99 cents (and believe me it is worth buying) here at iTunes. It’s from The Final Ripoff album.

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 Elliot Spitzer's Wife: Hero or Victim? [21:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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How many scientific studies find their inspiration from a parable in the bible? Well, this one does and for my 50th episode I’ll go over a very interesting study based on the Good Samaritan parable. We’ll take another look at the topic of bystander intervention by asking the question: are people more likely to help someone if they are thinking “pious” thoughts at the time?

After reviewing the study I’ll take a look at a couple articles that cite the good samaritan parable and ask the question: what does the results of this study imply about the value of character education, virtues programs, codes of ethics, citizenship and ethical behavior in general?

The Good Samaritan Parable (Luke 10: 27-37)

Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus…”And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down the road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by the other side. but a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? He said, The one who showed him mercy” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Resources on Helping Behavior

• Darley, J. M. & Batson, C. D. (1973) From Jerusalem to Jericho: a study of situational and dispositional variables in helping behavior, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 27(1), 100–119.
• Samuels, S.M. and Casebeer, W.D. (2005). A social psychological view of morality: why knowledge of situational influences on behaviour can improve character development practices. Journal of Moral Education, 34, 73-87.
• Kotre, J. (1992). Experiments as Parables. American Psychologist, 672-673.

Episodes on Bystander Intervention and other Good Stories

• What Really Happened to Kitty Genovese?
• Leon Festinger’s Cognitive Dissonance Study.
• John Watson’s study on Little Albert.
• Sherif’s Robber’s Cave study on group conflict.

Other Experiments as Parables

• Festinger, L., & Carlsmith, J. M. (1959). Cognitive consequences of forced compliance.
  Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 58, 203-210
• Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology,
  67, 371-378.
• Asch, S. E. (1951). Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgment. In H. Guetzkow (ed.) Groups, leadership and men. Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Press.
• Watson, J.B. & Rayner, R. (1920). Conditioned Emotional Reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3, 1-14.

Site Search: Ethics, Social Psychology

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 Psychological Study Ripped Straight from....the Bible?: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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What’s wrong with thinking positively? Could be a lot. Let’s take another look at the "positive psychology" movement in this episode of The Psych Files podcast. I’ll share some ideas for bringing about more positive events in your life, talk about social comparison theory, and then discuss how important "negative" - that is sad - feelings are in our lives. Those are moments not to run from, but to embrace.

Resources For This Episode

• Newsweek article (January 28, 2008): "The How To of Leading a Happy Life" by Jennifer Barrett. Summarizing the work of Sonja Lyubomirsky in The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want
• Prevention magazine (February, 2008): “Joy - How to make it last” by Siri Carpenter. Summarizing the work of Fred Bryant, Ph.D.
• Time magazine article (February 11, 2008): “Happiness: Enough Already” Sharon Begley
• Sharon Begley’s Blog
• Against Happiness: In Praise of Melancholy
• Chronicle of Higher Education (January 18, 2008) "In Praise of Melancholy", by Eric Wilson, Ph.D.

Social Comparison Theory

• Definition: whenever we are uncertain about ourselves, our skills, our talents, etc., we tend to compare ourselves to other people. Typically we compare to people similar to ourselves in some way (same age, similar background, belong to the same group for example). But we can make upward and downward comparison.
• Upward Comparison: you compare your self to someone who is either older, more experienced, more talented, more well off, etc. Comparisons of this type will probably make you feel worse about yourself.
• Downward Comparison: the opposite of the above: you compare yourself to someone who is less fortunate than you. These comparisons will probably remind you of how fortunate you are and will make you feel better about yourself.

Sad Songs mentioned in this episode

• Played at the end of the episode: the "Intermezzo" from the opera Cavaleria Rusticana by Mascagni. You can learn more about Mascagni and hear another version of the Intermezzo on Erik Bruchez’s excellent Mascagni website.
• "O Mio Babbino Caro" from the opera Gianni Schicchi by Puccini
• The Moonlight Sonata by Beethovan
• Tristesse by Chopin
• Lakme Duet (also called the Flower Duet) from the opera Lakme by Delibes
• Claire de Lune by Debussey
• Feel free to suggest other beautiful sad songs in your comments to this post!

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 Positive Thinking [28:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 O Mio Babbino Caro from Gianni Schicci by Puccini: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Independent variables, dependent variables, t-tests, anovas, experiments, between subjects, within subjects, confounds…confused? You won’t be after you watch this week’s video episode. Learn research methods in psychology the fun way - by choosing an interesting topic. In this video I explain the basic concepts of research while examining the effect of gray hair on credibility. More fun than…let me think…well, trust me, it’ll be interesting.

Resources for This Episode

• The web site where you can change your appearance by mixing your photo with celebrities is called Hairmixer.

Notes

• Independent Variable: the variable you manipulate (”type of hair” in this example).

• Dependent Variable: the variable you measure (”credibility” in this example).

• Operational Definition: the exact data that you will collect. In this example, a subject’s rating on a 1 to 10 credibility scale is my operational definition of credibility.

Related Episodes

• Why Do Statistics Make Us So Queasy?

• Check out episode 3 in which I discuss hypotheses and Popper’s important concept of falsifiability.

• Looking for more fun with research? Check out my episode on how consumer researcher’s carefully watch your behavior in the grocery store.

• If you want to review many of the psychological research terms mentioned in this episode, check the “the mappr” - an audio review program I wrote.

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 Podcast Video: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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What do psychologists think about the effects of violent video games and violence in the media on viewers? Does it lead people to be more aggressive? More violent? Or is it the other way around - that aggressive people are drawn to violent media? We explore this question in this episode along with taking a close look at the classic “Bobo” doll study that was conducted by Albert Bandura. And we throw in a little James Bond along the way.

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Resources For This Episode

• Here’s the article that appeared in the Stanford News Service which announces the Grawemeyer Award that was given to Albert Bandura.
• Albert Bandura’s website.
• Here’s a version of Bandura’s original article on the effects of observing aggressive models which I found on Google Scholar.
• Forty Studies that Changed Psychology: Explorations into the History of Psychological Research
• Bully
• Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror
• The Rodney Atkins - Watching You video on YouTube

Here’s the video from YouTube called “Watching You”:


Technorati: bobo doll study, albert bandura, video game violence, violence in the media, media violence, classic bobo doll study

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 Episode 37: The Effects of Video Game and Media Violence [27:44m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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What you think you know about what happened to Kitty Genovese is wrong. Ms. Genovese was repeatedly attacked while others watched and did nothing right? Wrong. While the story lead to a long and successful line of research in the area of bystander intervention and diffusion of responsibility, the facts of the story are incorrect. What are the facts behind this case and if groups are so unlikely to help, how do you explain how people came together to help at 911? Let’s take another look at the legacy of this famous story in this podcast.
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Resources For This Podcast

• Here’s a link to the American Psychologist.The article of interest here is called “The Kitty Genovese Murder and the Social Psychology of Helping: The Parable of the 38 Witneses” by Rachel Manning, Mark Levine, and Alan Collins. You’ll need to get the article from your library however, as it is not available online.

Here are links to the author’s websites:

• Rachel Manning’s UWE webpage.

• Mark’s Lancaster University webpage.

• Alan’s Lancaster University webpage.

• There is a great deal of information about what really happened to Kitty Genovese on the Kew Gardens website.

• Here’s a video showing how the “smoke under the door” scenario results in a lack of helping:
  

• Interesting video on Helping Behavior on YouTube.

• If you’re a Psych Teacher you should definitely join the Teaching In the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) discussion list to stay in touch with your “virtual colleagues”

• Another great discussion group for psychology teachers is PsychTeacher.

Technorati: kitty genovese, bystander intervention, diffusion of responsibility

Popularity: 65% [?]

 

 Episode 36: The Myth of the Kitty Genovese Story [36:19m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Conflict Resolution: what do gangs, asteroids, a giant octopus and little boys at a summer camp in Robber’s Cave State Park in 1954 have in common? Find out this week as we take a look at a wonderful study in psychology which taught us a great deal about intergroup conflict and resolution. This week on The Psych Files.

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Resources for this Episode

• The article on conflict resolution: Sherif, M., O.J. Harvey, B.J. White, W.R. hood, and C W. Cherif (1961) Intergroup Conflict and Cooperation: The Robbers Cave Experiment. Norman: University of Oklahoma Book Exchange.
• The article by Tajfel on Social Identity Theory: Tajfel, H. and Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of inter-group behavior. In S. Worchel and L. W. Austin (eds.), Psychology of Intergroup Relations. Chigago: Nelson-Hall
• Tajfel, H. (1970). Experiments in intergroup discrimination. Scientific American, 23, 96-102.
• Tajfel, H., Billig, M.G., Bundy, R.P., & Flament, C. (1971). Social categorization and intergroup behavior. European Journal of Social Psychology, 1, 149-178.
• Social Psychology, 2nd Ed. Roger Brown’s great book: Social Psychology in which the study on conflict resolution is discussed.
• Babe One of the best, warm hearted movies every made.

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 Conflict Resolution [22:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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Do feel slightly uncomfortable in the bathroom? How does the presence of others in the bathroom affect you? What about places other than the bathroom? How close is too close? A psychological study was done in 1976 in which psychology researchers hid in men’s bathrooms to observe…well, you’ll find out. Learn more about personal space in this episode of The Psych Files.
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The article discussed in this episode:

Middlemist, R. D., Knowles, E. S. & Matter, C.F. (1976). Personal Space Invasions in the Lavatory: Suggestive Evidence for Arousal. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 33 (5), 541-546.

Watch this episode from NPR video on personal space in Second Life: “Avatar gender and personal space invasion anxiety level in desktop collaborative virtual environments.”

Helpful Links:

Shy Bladder website
Paruresis website

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 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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What happens when people “marry outside their looks” (that is, when you marry someone who is obviously much more attractive than you are)? There’s an interesting and humorous article on page 86 of the May 7, 2007 issue of Time magazine that discusses just this. The title is “The Last Taboo”. Or, as the author puts it, “Marrying a few degrees up or down the hotness scale.” Recall that part of episode 4 (”On Birds Flocking and Opposites Attracting”) is about what psychologists often refer to as the matching hypothesis - the observation that we all seem to have a sense of how attractive we are and how attractive other people are and we tend to marry people who we deem to be at about our same “level”.

Here are a couple other examples of seeming mismatches:

• They’re now divorced but Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett

• Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt

• Dennis Kucinich and his wife Elizabeth Jane (Harper) Kucinich

Here is the link to episode 4 which discusses the matching hypothesis in more detail.

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Here’s a unique example of cognitive dissonance theory: the information you pay attention to (and ignore) as you search around on Amazon.com How? Listen to The Psych Files podcast to find out. Cognitive dissonance strikes again!

Click here to listen to episode 10 on how your search behavior reflects cognitive dissonance.

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