Topic: Psychological Experiments

A sociological experiment involving women who believed they had facial scars (which were actually removed before their interviews) showed that they perceived significantly more discrimination than they actually faced. The study suggests that a "victimhood ideology" primes individuals to look for oppression even when it isn't present. The hosts relate this to new laws in New York regarding weight and appearance discrimination.

An anecdote describes participating in psychological experiments at the University of California for payment. The subject was wired to a lie detector while being shown disturbing films, including a graphic Aboriginal circumcision ritual and a dramatized shop class safety movie involving an impalement. The experimenter noted the subject's high levels of anticipation during the viewing.

The "Zen TV Experiment" from 1998 demonstrated how television viewers enter an "alpha state," a trance-like condition where the mind builds stories to bridge "technical events" like cuts and zooms. This state makes viewers highly susceptible to advertising and emotional manipulation. The experiment showed that when the entertainment stops, viewers become irrationally angry, highlighting the addictive nature of the medium.