Although people have always been interested to know why we behave in this way, and how our mind works, the active development of experimental psychology began only in the twentieth century.
A thorough study of a number of areas of human psychology, human behavior, the study of complex biological processes occurring in the brain, allowed us to learn a lot about human emotions, and gave a deeper understanding of why we act the way we do.
We have collected for you some of the most famous and unusual experiments conducted by psychologists. From simple social experiments to complex behavioral patterns that uncover the workings of the subconscious and push the boundaries of ethics, these fun experiments are sure to make you think about what you know about yourself.
Smoke Room Experiment
In this experiment, a person was sitting in a room filling out a questionnaire when smoke suddenly appeared from under the door. What would you do? Would get up, leave, tell someone, no doubt about it. Now imagine that you are not alone, but with several people who, it seems, do not care about smoke at all. How would you act in such a situation?
When people were alone in a room, 75% of the subjects reported smoke almost immediately. The average reaction time was 2 minutes from the onset of smoke.
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However, when two other actors were in the room with the subject and were told to act as if nothing had happened, only 10% left the room or reported a problem. 9 out of 10 people continued to work on the questionnaire, wiping their eyes and brushing off the smoke.
The experiment was a great example of how people respond to emergencies more slowly (or not at all) in the presence of passive bystanders. We seem to be highly dependent on the actions of others, even against our instincts. If the group acts as if everything is in order, then it is? Not. Don't let the passivity of others confuse you, don't think that someone else will help, be the one who acts!
Experiment "Car Accident"
The 1974 experiment by Loftus and Palmer was intended to be evidence that the wording of the questions could in some way distort eyewitness responses, affecting their memories of the event.
The experimenters asked people to rate the speed of cars using different kinds of questions. Determining the speed of a vehicle is not a person's forte, so the respondents could only guess.
Participants viewed photographs of a car accident and were asked to describe the incident as if they were eyewitnesses. The subjects were divided into two groups, and each group was asked a question about the speed of the car using different verbs to describe the impact, for example: “How fast did the car move when it crashed / bumped / collided / bumped / touched another car?”.
The results show that the verb conveyed a sense of the speed of the vehicle, and this changed the perception of the participants. Those who were asked the question with the word "smashed" called the speed greater than those who had the word "hit". Participants with a "crashed" vehicle reported the highest speed rating (65.7 km / h), followed by "crashed" (63.2 km / h), "collided" (61.3 km / h), "hit" (54.7 km / h), and finally, “touched” reported that the speed was about 51.2 kilometers per hour.
In other words, eyewitness testimony may differ depending on how the questions are asked.
Milgram's experiment
This experiment was carried out in 1961 by the psychologist Stanley Milgram and was intended to determine how far people are willing to go after authority figures, even if the actions they are ordered to do bring obvious harm to others.
Subjects were offered the role of a teacher who shocks the student with electric shock every time the student makes a mistake. The students were actors who deliberately answered some questions incorrectly. With each incorrect answer, the intensity of the discharge increased, and the actors had to portray monstrous pain. Many subjects, despite attempts to protest, continued to shock the students every time the experimenter ordered them. As a result, 65% of people sent a 450 volt discharge to the "victim", which in reality would become fatal.
The results of the study showed that ordinary people can well obey the orders of authorities, even if it is an order to kill an innocent person. Obedience to authority has been ingrained in us since we were children.
Experiment "Facebook"
In 2012, many Facebook users became participants in an experiment without their knowledge. The social network manipulated the news of almost 689 thousand people for one week, filling the news with positive content for some, and negative for others. They then monitored updates posted by unwitting participants to see if the emotional tinge of the news affected anything.
It turns out that you can make your users happier or sadder through a process called Emotional Transfer. The researchers concluded: "Emotions expressed by friends on social media influence our own mood, which, as far as we know, is the first experimental evidence of the massive spread of emotions through social media."
Despite the fact that we subscribe to social networks voluntarily, and such research is legal, the ethics of such massive manipulation is questionable. “People must agree to be part of the study, and must have a chance to abandon it without any consequences,” as one academician said in this controversial experiment.
The power with which social media is beginning to influence our lives is of growing concern. Do you trust Facebook to keep track of your interests? Or do you become open to emotional manipulation in the interests of advertisers? The research, though controversial, has uncovered deeper aspects of online ethics and privacy, which can only be a good thing.
Ilya Kislov