Psychologists are a weird bunch of people at the best of times, but what about one that studies the strange quirks of people. That’s exactly what Richard Wiseman does and his research methods are quite novel.
For example, if you want to know how honest people are, don’t ask them because they will all be as honest as the day is long. You have to test their honesty without them knowing. In one experiment he sent bogus refund cheques (claiming to be a refund on a piece of furniture the recipient never purchased) to two distinct groups of people. They were priests and used-car salesmen. Half of the used-car salesmen cashed the cheque, while half returned it saying there had been a mistake. What was the ratio for the priests? Exactly the same.
He holds fake séances and records how the people react to various “supernatural phenomena” and how even non-believers are fooled by simple conjuring tricks.
Interestingly, he explains how people can be persuaded to remember events that never actually happened. (I remember once having a discussion with some poms who swore blind that the characters in Captain Pugwash had names like “Roger the Cabin Boy”, “Master Bates” and “Able Seaman Stains”, when in fact it is an urban myth.)
He also discovers that women who have men write their personal ads have more success at attracting a man than if they wrote it themselves.
All of this and more is in a great book called Quirkology. Dr Wiseman also has a Quirkology website and be sure to watch the videos. “The Prediction” might keep you guessing for a minute or two.
Why the sudden fascination we psychologists? My daughter is studying to be one and my wife is just about to enrol in a similar course. I look forward to being there guinea pig.
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