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.

 

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