“Technically, you are using ‘Reverse Psychology’ when you intentionally and strongly argue in favor of a decision or behavior while secretly wanting the receiver of your argument to endorse the opposite decision or behavior” (Pantalon, 2011). Continue reading
Beliefs about Beliefs: Theory of Mind Development
An important aspect of a child’s cognitive development is the emergence of a representational theory of mind. Having a theory of mind means that one is able to impute mental states – such as beliefs, intentions, knowledge and desires – to oneself and others. In simple terms, it involves knowing that other people have minds of their own and that their thoughts and knowledge can differ from one’s own. Continue reading
Social Conformity – The Elevator Experiment
A few days ago, the staff at WIP released an article on the power of group pressure and social conformity on the decisions we make on a daily basis. Today we examine the principles of the classic Asch conformity experiments in a new setting…inside an elevator.
Why Do Women Love the Drama? A “Psycho” Analysis
A new study published by Psychological Science, a journal for the Association for Psychological Science, found that a woman becomes more attracted to a man if she is completely uncertain whether or not he likes her. Continue reading
Visual illusion – Albert Einstein and Marilyn Monroe
The Asch Conformity Experiments
Conformity refers to the practice of going along with prevailing social standards or attitudes. In the 1950’s, Solomon Asch conducted a series of experiments in which he studied the willingness of individual subjects to conform to group answers, even when those answers were obviously wrong. Continue reading