ideas for psychology project...?

For psychology I have to go out in public and do something that goes against social norms. I cant seem to think of anything that wont get me into a load of trouble. We have to go out and do that, and then we have to write a paper about peoples reactions and why we t hink they reacted in the way that they did. Any ideas for things that I can do? I need something good. Im scared because I dont like embarassing myself haha.

OK been there, done that

How about finding doors that can be opened both ways, and then putting "Push" and "Pull" signs on them?

Then you can see how much people take notice of you.

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Dress up as an old woman, a disabled person, an Arab, etc and see if you can detect and changes in how people deal with you. (Old people get discriminated against)

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beg for money, in different styles of clothes (see above) measure sympathy

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Print up some pamphlets about how Satan is the one true God, and try to hand them out to people... Be sure to dress up all in black, etc. Explain how God has abandoned his children, Satan offers freedom, etc. yadda yadda yadda.... That'd be good for reaction...varying from disgust, fear, interest, etc.

Originally posted by Gazrok
Print up some pamphlets about how Satan is the one true God, and try to hand them out to people... Be sure to dress up all in black, etc. Explain how God has abandoned his children, Satan offers freedom, etc. yadda yadda yadda.... That'd be good for reaction...varying from disgust, fear, interest, etc.

i thought about doing something similar.. but instead of that i was going to pass out pamphlets claiming things that were obviously not true, and try to convince people that they were.

How about handing oup pamphlets that say-

World Peace!
help fund the Irradication of the Human Race Foundation.(with a whole bunch of made up information)

And record their reactions
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Or just remember these:
Social desirability bias: People may try to make themselves look better than they are. In other words, they lie.

Obeying demand characteristics: People may say what they think we want to hear.

Memory errors: Do people accurately remember what they do? People don't always know why they do things.

Pretend to be homeless. Ask people for change or a meal. I'll bet you will be surprised at how many turn their backs

Stand the wrong way in a lift- facing the back and see if people will turn around with you.

There is the famous Kitty genovese crowd effect showing the diffusion of responsiblity. So get someone to have a practice fight in a public place and see if people try and stop you. (Kitty was murdered in an alley by her boyfriend and heaps of people heard her cries from their apartments as she died, no one called the cops ...)

See how people react to you according to the type of dog you walk with (canine type of dog). Do people avoid you with a doberman, or are friendly with a bichion friz...

Originally posted by Gazrok
Print up some pamphlets about how Satan is the one true God, and try to hand them out to people... Be sure to dress up all in black, etc. Explain how God has abandoned his children, Satan offers freedom, etc. yadda yadda yadda.... That'd be good for reaction...varying from disgust, fear, interest, etc.

This description is so vivid and colorful that it seems to be accompanied by the voice of experience Gazrok!



Repent! And stop kicking the Christians off your favorite street corner to sprout Satanism...

What about seeing peoples reaction time to a accident
have someone fall over and look like they are knocked out.
see how long it takes people to respond...
and observe the people who stand back

this can be recorded it three parts

1..the ones who run straight over
2..The ones who wait untill someone else goes then follows
3..the ones who stand in a distance watching

there is loads of studies that back this one up

There was a study done outside an appartment...a fake murder....No onein the appartment came to the aid of the girl....they turned there lights out and called the police....

the point here is...we all think we would respond but the truth is when faced with it, most of us dont....are own fear takes over

This description is so vivid and colorful that it seems to be accompanied by the voice of experience Gazrok!

You should hear the whole schpeel... I give it to JW's that come knocking on my door, or Christians... At my old residence, we used to get them like once every other day, so I got rather fed up with it, and decided to throw them for a loop, hehe... I don't believe any of it of course, but I can sound mighty convincing....hehe... Like in my last debate, I didn't personally have that view, but as a debator, it was the view I had to defend...

Actually I hope you realise that you are going about this exercise the wrong way.

First you have to identify WHAT you want to measure. - social conformity, diffusion of responsability, etc

Then you have to read some past reseach on the topic, what they do, what did they find.

Then you construct an experiment either to confirm or deny the effect you are measuring.

All we have said so far are just games unless these steps are followed.

I would have expected your teacher to have outlined these hypothesis testing steps.

Put on gray clothes,and buy a plastic alien mask. Get a toy lightsaber or sword and go march around the streets yelling "We the Grays are here to enslave the Earth!". When people notice you duck and hide acting like you are not supposed to be noticed. Tell people who walk up to you, that you are God coming to save them in the form of an alien race. And disco dance while corssing the street.

That would work.

Originally posted by Gazrok
Print up some pamphlets about how Satan is the one true God, and try to hand them out to people... Be sure to dress up all in black, etc. Explain how God has abandoned his children, Satan offers freedom, etc. yadda yadda yadda.... That'd be good for reaction...varying from disgust, fear, interest, etc.

She's in Alabama Gaz... that would probably get her killed.

Socially unacceptable... hmmmm... Point at people that are walking by... start laughing very VERY loud.

Some will begin to laugh, some will ignore and some will get upset. (If they start to get upset, immediately quit and explain to them what you are doing).

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Be Cool
K_OS

Oh, Alabama? Damn...go with NC's idea then...

Strike a pose like a ballerina or muscle pose. Stair up at the sky. Hug and kiss a tree or telephone pole. Have a conversation with a mailbox or soda machine. Act like an animal. Put a sign on yourself that says take me home. Pretend like your crying or laughing your head off. Paint your face. Wrap up a doll in a blanket, like a baby and drop it in front of people.

There are many things you could do, if you want to put some work into it, set up something unusual like a bed on a sidewalk or a office in the park or a bathtub in the middle of a parking lot.

wow hehe a lot of people have replied to this while i was away. speaking of the pamphlet idea.. that makes me think of something haha. these mormons used to ride their bikes to our house every day because my sister allowed to come in to talk to her. she would come up with all of these witty questions and stump them, and while she was questioning them, my boyfriend and I would play really weird music or do strange things. once his nose started bleeding for some reason, and those mormons were in the living room with my sister, so he got a white shirt and smeared blood all over it and put it on and smeared blood all over his face.. it was really disgusting actually,and casually walked past the living room and into the kitchen.they didnt even say anything.. they just pretended not to notice. those guys still continued to come for like an entire month, but one day they simply told my sister that they didnt think that they should be in such an environment and never came back.. hahaha . great times... and thanks for all of the ideas..ive still got a month to think about what im going to do, so ill look and some of this stuff and maybe come up with something really good. i want it to be something that will make her laugh hysterically when she reads it.

mirrorsparadise- To do something shocking and legal is quite easy. Dress up in your best church clothes and go to an after church sermon. Then, perhaps with a hidden tape recorder, solicit people and try to convince them that the war in Iraq is wrong. That'll provoke some reactions...