What do a bike-crazy psychologist, an infestation of cockroaches, a Paralympic athlete and driverless cars have in common?

They're at the heart of the origin story of social psychology, the study of how the social world affects what we think and do.

Ep 1. Social Facilitation

Whither love? It's the eternal question posited by everyone from poets to pop stars. And in this episode of N of Us, it's answered with three social psychology studies.

Help is on hand from Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock, Woody Allen and Diane Keaton, Harry Connick Jr and Donny Osmond, all of whom offer their tuppence on who we fall in love with and how to make it happen.

Ep. 2 Interpersonal Attraction

Barack Obama is arguably the most powerful man in the world. But is his power justified?

In this episode of N of Us, we find out by wandering through  the Italian Renaissance, taking savasana, grabbing a donut and buying the world a Coke.

Happy President's Day!

Ep. 3 Power

Bugs, daylight savings time and park benches that poke you in the posterior if you sit on them too long: how are these related crime? The answer lies in the theoretical underpinnings behind Broken Windows Theory.

Ep. 4 Broken Windows

photo by Sunfrog1

When I was growing up in Southern California, the most famous car salesman on my TV was Cal Worthington. He and his hat and his (never really a canine) "dog" Spot persuaded me, a six year old, that I need to buy a car. From him.

How did he do that? In this episode of the N of Us, Cal, homemaker Betty and her Tupperware and Top Gun lead us down the two routes of the Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion to find out.

This week's podcast was produced and presented by me, Aleks Krotoski. Editorial and voice support provided by Ben Hammersley. Our researcher is Hannah Whittingham. Sound Mixing by Marcus Veda.

The N of Us is sponsored by the British Psychological Society.

Ep. 5 Persuasion

There’s an island in the Pacific Ocean that’s only 25 miles long and 12 miles wide. The people there worship a god called John Frum. And their religion has a surprising origin.

The Tannese have something in common with a caged pigeon, Peggy Lee and a baby that won't go to sleep. Find out more about where magical thinking comes from in this episode of N of Us.

Ep. 6 Superstition

Hypnosis is the product of two states: the trance and the suggestion.

We can be put deeply, deeply to sleep by a professional, or we can put ourselves into one.

The important bit is what happens when we're there.

Recorded live in front of audiences in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia for Wired for Wonder in August 2015.

Ep. 7 Suggestion

This is the story of two shopping malls and the men behind them - the men who manipulate our surroundings in such a way that we can't help but impulse buy. One lulls us into submission so we buy on the way out. The other dazzles us so much that we have to buy in order to get out.

And this, naturally, leads to theme parks. The mouse-father of them all. 

The Gimme Episode. Go on, gimme.

Aleks Krotoski

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