Ever wondered why I wear pants?

No?

Huh. Well, that makes two of us.

But, irrespective of my lack of critical thinking, the clothes we choose to wear are a very interesting psychological phenomenon. After all, there are plenty of things I could use to keep my legs warm - stockings, animal pelts, massive socks, aluminium foil and the lower half of a wetsuit all come to mind. Yet I don't.

Why is that?

Today, we're exploring conformity. What it is, the types that can occur, and how it can lead to us doing some very silly things indeed.

*I accidentally call Kelman 'Kerman' at 27:00. I beg you find it in your heart to forgive me.

References:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VYqFd07kbmLqzjU_-9mBVIsJ4xVgS1BZLVJY_gHm1IY/edit?usp=sharing

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What does it take to become a murderer?

Worse, what drives a nation to commit genocide?

Today, we take a casual stroll down the glistening cobblestones that pave the path to damnation. On our way, we're going to explore some of the psychological research into obedience - namely, the Milgram Shock Experiment and the Stanford Prison Experiment. Then, we're going to try our hand at explaining how entire nations of otherwise righteous people can be convinced to remain complicit in atrocities, in the hopes that we can prevent them in the future.

All in 45 minutes (give or take 78 seconds).

References:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fLD9w5oeiPxLZDvadytjLU4HfayyajEaTK37_SFVsY0/edit?usp=sharing

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alcohol is weird. Like, conceptually. It's very often expensive, bitter and, to put it lightly, poisonous.

And, yet, it plays a fundamental role in many societies. Why?

On this episode of the podcast, we recap the previous three episodes by applying the theories we've discussed so far - operant conditioning, classical conditioning, and social learning theory - to human drinking behaviour. Hopefully, somehow, we can get to the bottom of this.

Corrections:

39:57 - I should clarify: a tendency in online discourse around psychology

40:06 - Yes, I'm aware this was Maslow's whole thing - the point is that theories like his get much less attention in pop psychology than theories focused on maladaptive behaviours.

References:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EwRZKA2TlZW2Fiwl3wecxUAjEZqLWZFnZ8yuuTri8d8/edit?usp=sharing

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.