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Social psychology

Essays and videos offering insights into the self, relationships, cognition and neuroscience

Addiction Ageing and death Childhood and adolescence Cognition and intelligence Consciousness and altered states Family life Gender and identity Language and linguistics Life stages Love and friendship Mental health Mood and emotion Neurodiversity Neuroscience Personality Pleasure and pain Psychiatry and psychotherapy Self-improvement Sex and sexuality Sleep and dreams Social psychology Spirituality Teaching and learning Technology and the self Wellbeing

Explore more Psychology

Sketch of person holding a pink phone to their ear with minimal facial detail.

videoHistory

In the face of denial, this film uncovers the hidden scars of Indonesia’s 1998 riots

21 minutes

Photo of three people stacking hay bales under a cloudy sky with a pink sunset.

videoSocial psychology

What happened when a crypto scam swept over a sleepy town in the Caucasus

18 minutes

Illustration of a hand dropping a coin into another hand within an eye-shaped frame on a textured background.

videoVirtues and vices

Why Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Adam Smith were divided on the virtues of vanity

5 minutes

Young girls dressed in riot police helmets and gear standing outdoors in the rain.

videoChildhood and adolescence

The police camp where tween girls enter a sisterhood of law and order

28 minutes

A colourful abstract drawing of two people talking on the left, and three others walking with baskets on the right. There are boats in the background and watercolour splashes.

videoAnthropology

Why are witchcraft accusations so common across human societies?

4 minutes

Close-up of a woman with blonde hair and a nose ring. She has a serious expression. The background is a foggy landscape with soft pink and grey tones.

videoTechnology and the self

A deepfake porn victim confronts the pain of having her likeness stolen and vandalised

19 minutes

People seated in a diner with red accents, a waitress serving, and a woman in a green sweater sitting by the window adjusting her hair.

essaySocial psychology

The magic of the mundane

Pioneering sociologist Erving Goffman realised that every action is deeply revealing of the social norms by which we live

Lucy McDonald

An elderly man with a white beard and blue cap stands on a rocky beach with ruins in the background on a clear day.

videoPersonality

Why one man spent 15 years in ‘self-imposed’ island exile

7 minutes

An older man stands proudly in front of his house near Leipzig, east Germany after reunification in 1990. A German flag hangs from a ground floor window.

essayEconomic history

Deservingness

In post-communist eastern and central Europe, history is intensely personal and economics is saturated with moral feeling

Till Hilmar

A monochrome drawing of a surprised young person looking downwards, with wide eyes and slightly open mouth.

videoBiography and memoir

The busboy who comforted Robert F Kennedy as he lay dying shares his story

3 minutes

A black-and-white image of a man and a woman in a bar, both holding drinks. The woman is looking at the man with a serious expression.

essaySocial psychology

Don’t let them fool you

The fear of being duped is ubiquitous, but excessive scepticism makes it harder to trust one another and cooperate

Tess Wilkinson-Ryan

A person uses a phone with cartoon faces in the background representing online interactions.

videoSocial psychology

Social contagions can cause genuine illness, and TikTok may be a superspreader

10 minutes

A street scene with a shoe shiner, a man reading a newspaper, and people wearing traditional attire in front of a vibrant, orange wall.

essayEthics

Through the eyes of another

It’s impossible to shed our individual biases. So the best way to establish objectivity is by taking on new perspectives

Heidi Maibom

A group of people stands indoors with a woman in front holding a rifle, wearing a beanie and a patterned jacket.

essayWar and peace

The will to fight

Throughout history, the most effective combatants have powered to victory on commitment to core values and collective resolve

Scott Atran

Animated man with clenched fists in a fighting stance, wearing glasses, a red jacket, and a brown tie with a crowd in the background.

videoSocial psychology

A harrowing account of a 1970 ‘leadership seminar’ spotlights self-help’s dark side

11 minutes

Black-and-white photo of two men by a wooden biplane near a hangar in an open grassy field.

essaySocial psychology

A good scrap

Disagreements can be unpleasant, even offensive, but they are vital to human reason. Without them we remain in the dark

Ian Leslie

Photo of a person with colourful, abstract paint streaks surrounding their head on a white background, creating a radiant effect.

videoAnthropology

Sitting by the fire with a nomadic tribe, a physicist ponders the many shapes of wisdom

2 minutes

A man in a white shirt with the text ‘Hey Kobe’ and Kanji script sits before a makeshift memorial of flowers, candles, and balloons.

videoMood and emotion

Grieving Kobe Bryant, Conor wonders: why do untimely celebrity deaths hit so hard?

6 minutes

Cartoon sketch of a baby clutching a shopping cart and crying as it is pulled away by its legs.

videoSocial psychology

Feeling connected to objects is a fundamental – and fraught – part of human nature

5 minutes

A man smoking a pipe reflected in a window with a background of a beige, clapboard building.

videoEthics

Does everyone deserve a respectful burial? How a terrorist’s body divided a city

22 minutes

A large metal kettle hanging from a tree branch in a forest with various items scattered on the ground nearby.

videoSocial psychology

Disturbed loner? Gentle recluse? Opinions on an infamous Maine hermit run the gamut

23 minutes

A man with short hair holding a cigarette, wearing a sweater and shirt, with a calm expression against a green background.

videoFilm and visual culture

‘From dream to reality!’ The 1960s spoof that marked the dawn of self-aware advertising

9 minutes

Two people walking past a sunlit cafe window, with red chairs and table outside. Sun rays create a warm glow on the scene.

ideaLove and friendship

Dating on the rebound – when looking for love can be a lifesaver

Claudia Brumbaugh

Musicians in a string orchestra, mostly playing cellos. The image focuses on the players seated in concentration.

videoMusic

The violinist staging a concert of unity at the border between North and South Korea

18 minutes