Grade levels: Senior High (10-12)

We see a laboratory experiment on attraction in progress. Psychologists explain they are interested in whether the context in which we see someone influences our view of their attractiveness. Two groups of subjects look at the same set of pictures, but the environment is very different for each group. One group are well treated and make their selection in comfort, while participants in the other group are kept waiting and make their selection in a dank, noisy basement room. Will the different contexts influence their grading? In the process we see some of the benefits and drawbacks of the laboratory experiment as it happens.

It’s quite normal to feel worried or sad, but sometimes these feelings can take over us and the normal can become abnormal. We begin by introducing two case studies, Alison who has depression and Karen who has an anxiety disorder. We go on to explore the problematic idea of ‘abnormality’ and how mental disorders might be recognized and classified. The major part of the program is devoted to explaining, illustrating and analyzing three psychological perspectives on mental disorders: Mental Disorder as a Disease of the Body, a Disease of the Mind and as A Social Construction.

Most of us have cell phones. But little is yet known about the psychological effects of the cell phone. Is it changing the way we relate to each other and if so, is it for better or worse? How can psychologists research these questions? This program examines researching young people’s use of cell phones with three different non-experimental methods. We see the research taking place which is inter-cut with the researchers explaining their methods and findings, young people’s views on cell phones and expert analysis. The program is divided into three linked but self-standing sections: Questionnaire Surveys, Interviews, and Naturalistic Observation.

We begin by looking at what psychology is, how it differs from common sense and the questions it asks about human behavior. We then explore some of the areas where psychologists have looked for answers to these questions – in the human brain, the unconscious and the environment. The program is divided into three self-standing sections: The Biological Perspective, The Psychodynamic Approach, and the Behaviorist Approach.

The BBC Prison Study explores the social and psychological consequences of putting people in groups of unequal power. It examines when people accept inequality and when they challenge it. These findings have changed our basic understanding of how groups and power work. In this program, Alex Haslam and Steve Reicher tell the story of the largest field study in social psychology for over 30 years, using original illustrative film from the BBC series. As well as documenting their study, Haslam and Reicher look at social identity and its implications, the ethics of the study, their sources of data, and comparisons with the Stanford Prison Study.