Why do you behave the way you do? That kinda sounds like your parents right? Or maybe just
MY parents. You probably think you’re in charge of how you act, but are you? In a never-ending
quest to understand the mystery of the human mind, psychologists have conducted loads of
experiments. And their findings may have you questioning if you’re really in control
of your actions at all. For instance… 1. The Conformity Experiment
Would you ever give a wrong answer when you know the right one? Seems unlikely since we
can all be kinda stubborn when it comes to being right! But it turns out there might
be a situation where you would. Solomon Asch’s experiment from the 1960’s demonstrates
this. It involved ordinary unsuspecting people and actors who pretended to be ordinary participants.
They were all placed in a room together and asked to look at two pictures. One of them
showed three lines of different lengths and the other - a single line. Their task was
to tell which line from the first picture was as long as the line in the second picture.
The answer was always obvious. The actors were instructed to give only wrong answers,
and surprisingly, 75% of the ordinary participants went along with the rest of the group! However,
when they were tested individually, 98% of them gave the correct answer. When they asked
the participants why they gave the wrong answer the first time, most of them confessed that
they agreed with the rest of the group because they didn’t wanna face ridicule.
Solomon Asch went further with his experiments and decided to find out if people would go
along with a group’s obviously nonsensical behavior. This experiment was even shown on
an episode of the TV show Candid Camera! An unsuspecting man entered an elevator, and
then it was filled with more people who all stood oddly facing the back wall. Talk about
awkward! At first, the man was really confused, but then eventually turned around too. This
confirmed even more that our decisions are greatly influenced by those around us. This
is a good reminder that the group isn’t always smarter or better informed. Are you
brave enough to go against the crowd?
2. The smoke-filled room Imagine: you’re sitting in a room and smoke
starts to billow out of a vent in the wall. You’d probably do something about that,
right? Well, I wouldn’t be so sure! In another famous experiment from the 1960s carried out
by John Darley and Bibb Latané of Columbia University, students were invited to discuss
the problems of city life, which was just a cover. Before the discussion, they were
asked to fill in some questionnaires in a waiting room first. While they were doing
that, thick smoke began to enter the room through a small vent in the wall. When the
students were alone in the room, ¾ of them left to find someone to tell, because, well
ya know, where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire! However, when they were together
with other people who were instructed not to react to the smoke, 9 out of 10 students
silently kept filling out the forms! They thought it must be okay since other people
didn’t seem to care or be worried, even if it could’ve meant danger. This experiment
supports the idea that people would even act against their best interest just to fit in
because standing out from the crowd is just too scary! Do you agree? Let me know down
in the comments!
3. Teens without technology In this digital world, it’s hard to imagine
a day without devices. How long do you think you can go without touching your phone? Hey,
the time when you’re asleep doesn’t count! Think you could make it for 8 hours? Russian
psychologist Katerina Murashova conducted an experiment in 2011 to see if a group of
teens aged 12-18 could stay away from all gadgets, TV, video games, and internet for
8 hours. They were instructed to spend this time on their own doing whatever they wanted
as long as it had nothing to do with technology. Out of the 68 teens, only 3 of them passed
the test. Those who gave up later reported feeling extremely anxious or super bored,
so they just went back to surfing the net or playing videogames. The heroic 3 that succeeded
decided to indulge in their favorite hobbies. None of them seemed bothered by the absence
of tech-entertainment.
Later, the psychologist repeated the experiment with 49 participants aged 11-20, but this
time they were allowed to choose one person – a friend, relative, or their boyfriend
or girlfriend – to spend the 8 hours with. 13 participants managed to find something
to do for the whole period of time with their chosen partner. One of the pairs even built
a kennel for a dog neither of them owned! The ones who didn’t make it stopped the
experiment because they wanted to engage in their usual activities like watching a movie
together or playing a videogame, or they felt the urge to check their social media. Hmm,
I wonder who I’d choose as a partner for such a test—probably my bed!
4. Violinist in the subway An unusual experiment was carried out by the
Washington Post in 2007. They asked Joshua Bell, who – in case you don’t know – is
a Grammy-winning musician, to play the violin at subway station in D.C. Dressed like an
ordinary street performer, he played one of the most intricate pieces ever written on
a violin that’s worth – are you ready for this? – $3.5 million dollars! I bet
the acoustics in the station made it sound amazing, but… the passers-by didn’t seem
all that impressed. Only 6 people stopped and stayed to enjoy the music. Everyone else
just rushed by, never giving the time to appreciate the brilliant performance. As this undercover
street musician, Joshua Bell collected $32, but just two days before the experiment, he
had a show that sold out at a huge theater in Boston where seats cost an average of $100.
I think this is a good reminder to slow down and pay attention to the beauty that can show
up for us in unexpected places—especially when it’s free!
5. Piano Stairs Do you usually take the stairs or the escalator?
Yeah, the less physically exhausting option is usually the top choice. But what if the
stairs got a fun little makeover? (Huh?) One experiment shows that, when given the choice
between easy and fun, we’re more likely to choose fun! In 2009, Volkswagen sponsored
a social campaign in Stockholm, Sweden to find out if a bit of fun can inspire people
to change their behavior. They transformed a stairway next to an escalator into a giant
working keyboard. As you walk up or down, each step played a note like a piano. The
experiment showed 66% more people than normal chose to take the stairs, proving that making
things fun can help more people make healthier choices. This idea was soon adopted in some
other big cities like Auckland, Melbourne, Milan, and Istanbul, and Columbia. Ok, so
when are they gonna bring it to my town?!
6. The Nudge Theory Deep down inside, we all know what’s better
for us, yet we just can’t break our bad habits. Perhaps all we need is something to
come along and give us a little push in the right direction? Economist Richard Thaler
noticed this when he had a dinner party with friends. While waiting for the food to be
ready, they decided to munch on a large bowl of cashews. When half of it was gone, he hid
the bowl in the kitchen pantry so they wouldn’t ruin their appetites (and waistlines!) completely.
Surprisingly, the other guests thanked him for doing that. This inspired Thaler to come
up with the Nudge Theory. Basically, it suggests that people tend to gravitate toward positive
decisions when they're subtly promoted, not when they’re strictly advised. This theory
has proven to be true whenever it’s been tested, no matter the situation. For example,
authorities at the Amsterdam airport put small fly-shaped stickers in the urinals for men
to have something to aim at. This resulted in much cleaner public restrooms because,
well, there was 80% less spillage. In another case, one US grocery store put green arrows
on the floor that led visitors to the fresh produce section. That little nudge had 9 out
of 10 people follow them, resulting in more fruits and veggies being purchased!
7. The White Bear Experiment Can you stop yourself from thinking about
something in particular? One psychologist ran a series of tests to see what would happen
if someone tried. In 1987, Daniel Wegner asked participants in his study to do only one thing—not
think about white bears for 5 minutes. If they visualized a polar bear, they had to
ring a bell to register the thought. Well, the more people tried to refrain from thinking
about white bears, the more they rang that bell! In fact, those who tried to NOT think
about white bears actually ended up thinking about them more than other test subjects who
were intentionally trying to imagine a polar bear! Now try to not think about that! Ha
ha.
Which experiment impressed you the most? Let me know in the comments! If you learned something
new today, then give this video a like and share it with a friend. But – hey! – don’t
go anywhere just yet! We have over 2,000 cool videos for you to check out. All you have
to do is pick the left or right video, click on it, and enjoy! Stay on the Bright Side
of life!