Over on reddit, a commenter said that they once read a "social science study" which showed that people are more likely to rally in support of a cause when there's a common enemy to hate. It supposedly showed how when people were given the opportunity to unite and campaign for a positive cause, they showed little interest; but that the presence of a hostil opponent motivated the group to unite and rally against it. Can anyone think of a study along those lines?
posted by dontjumplarry on Mar 10, 2013 - 4 answers

Milgram Experiment: Give me examples of other psychological experiments which involved false pretenses. [more inside]
posted by shakespeherian on Nov 9, 2012 - 17 answers

I'm trying to find information about taxes and volunteer paid experimental (non-clinical) studies. I work in a lab, and one of our participants told us a week ago that if a study pays (the volunteer) over a certain amount, it gets taxed. Can anyone tell me if this is true and give me an official link? We're in Philadelphia, PA, USA. I can provide any other relevant information you need. Thanks!
posted by two lights above the sea on May 24, 2012 - 6 answers

What are some practical ways to implement classical and operant conditioning in the real world to change people's behaviour? [more inside]
posted by Knigel on Feb 2, 2011 - 23 answers

I am interested in people's exam preparation strategies (especially if you study psychology like me). It has suddenly occurred to me that I'm not very metacognitive about my learning. How do I intuit what are the most important concepts (likely to be on an exam, in short-answer format)? How do you pick up on hints from the lecturers? [more inside]
posted by KLF on Oct 24, 2010 - 9 answers

Recent study showing that the person in a group who talks most is judged most knowledgeable by other members of the group. I read an article about this somewhere on the Web within the last three weeks, and now I can't find it again. Can you help?
posted by markcmyers on Mar 20, 2009 - 2 answers