My most unethical psychological experiment to date involved treating my accountant friend Greg to what is now considered to be an “alcopop.” With his back turned, I dashed some into a tot glass and palmed the rest to my not-so-glamorous assistant. I announced that this drink was aptly called a “Silver Bullet!” I went on to claim that the barman had made a passing remark about it being by far the strongest concoction in the house. As an aside, I kindly warned him that soon he might not able to walk and that perhaps it was a good idea to sip it slowly. The experiment was too successful and backfired terribly, as I was left to negotiate with a now slurring and inebriated birthday boy. Getting him home early was even harder. Continue reading
Author Archives: Ryan
Meet Your Nicer Unconscious
Sigmund Freud’s work shattered the 19th Century idea of self. It threw into doubt everything we knew about our motives. Today we scoff at some of his ‘way out there’ ideas, particularly those that arose from his later career. Continue reading
Self-Help: Not For Everyone Please
Over the last decade we’ve seen a great rise in the availability and quality of self-help techniques. This has been a result of shifts in popular culture, the rising demand for mental health care and the growing body of scientific evidence in support of self-help techniques. Continue reading




