Social Psych

Conformity: In the Real-Life Lab (10:00)

When people decide whether or not to follow the crowd, what happens inside their brains? This ABC News program explores that question, highlighting neurological research that helps explain conformity and sheds light on the complex relationship between group and individual behavior. Placing test subjects in candid-camera style settings, the program illustrates how social pressures can alter visual perception and interpretation—often causing people to behave strangely or give answers they know are wrong, simply to avoid looking different. The implications of these misadventures are backed up by MRI experiments that study brain activity. (10 minutes)

Inside Wabash (46:00)

Situated in America’s heartland among acres of Indiana cornfields, Wabash Valley Correctional Facility houses not just the state’s most violent offenders but also a large population of the mentally ill. This MSNBC documentary looks at the challenges of confining thousands of hardened criminals in addition to those with deep-seated psychiatric needs. Wabash psychiatrist Dr. Mary Ruth Sims describes her work with a group of self-mutilating prisoners, while superintendent Craig Hanks and his staff outline their day-to-day challenges and the operation of the prison’s SHU or secure housing unit. Viewer discretion advised: additional interviews feature severely deranged inmates who give accounts of their horrific crimes. Not available in French-speaking Canada. (46 minutes)

The Mind of a Killer: Case Study of a Murderer (47:00)

What compels a seemingly normal person to disregard a fundamental societal principle and commit murder? In this disturbing program, correspondent Steve Aveson reports on recent scientific research into the behavior of killers. An exclusive interview with serial killer Joel Rifkin, convicted of strangling 17 women, is combined with neurological testing, brain scans, and even information derived from laboratory studies of animal aggression to attempt to shed light on Rifkin’s obscure motivation to kill—a motivation that is a mystery even to himself. An ABC News/Discovery Channel Production. (46 minutes)

Obeying or Resisting Authority: A Psychological Retrospective (36:00)

Echoing the infamous Milgram experiment from the 1960s, this ABC News program sets up a psychological test in which an authority figure urges men and women to inflict pain. Test administrator and social psychologist Dr. Jerry Burger interprets the disturbing findings. The program also analyzes the 1971 Stanford prison experiment as well as the 2004 hoax in which a McDonald’s manager and her fiancé—directed by a caller impersonating a police officer—strip-searched and abused an employee. Original footage from all of these occurrences is included, along with present-day commentary from Dr. Philip Zimbardo, who designed the Stanford test. Finally, the program explores the ethics of using human participants in psychological tests. (36 minutes)

Zimbardo Speaks: The Lucifer Effect and the Psychology of Evil (127:00)

Philip Zimbardo has spent decades researching the transformation of character that occurs when generally good people are led to engage in evil actions. In this lecture, Zimbardo discourses on theories of conformity, prejudice, aggression, social influence, and antisocial behavior. Topics include the permeability of behavioral boundaries; the nature of evil and its societal consequences; Zimbardo’s Lucifer Effect; the Abu Ghraib atrocities, a recent example of evil in action; blind obedience as demonstrated by Stanley Milgram’s experiments and by the Jonestown mass suicide; anonymity as an enabler of evil action, as illustrated by the Ku Klux Klan; Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison Experiment; dehumanization as demonstrated by Albert Bandura’s experiments and by the Rwandan genocide; how systems create evil, as illustrated by the Holocaust and the lynching of African-Americans; heroism as an antidote to evil; and more. A Q&A session follows. Viewer discretion is advised. (2 hours 7 minutes)

Prisoners of Age (49:00)

Raising complex and timely questions about the warehousing of America’s prison population, this program accompanies photographer Ron Levine on his mission to depict the physical, emotional, and psychological conditions of aging inmates—including those nearing death. Levine focuses his work on Alabama’s Hamilton Institute for the Aged and Infirm, the first prison created specifically for elderly convicts. Through Levine’s documentation and interviews, the humanity of those incarcerated emerges in poignant detail, leading viewers to assess their own beliefs about rehabilitation, victims’ rights, and how far society’s punishment should go. (50 minutes)

Science of Evil (50:00)

We know evil when we see it—or do we? This program follows three people who confront a particular version of evil every day. Viewers meet Roy Ratcliff, the minister who baptized serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer behind bars and continues the practice with other hardened criminals; Aya Schneerson, a UN aid worker who administers food and medical help in the war-torn Democratic Republic of the Congo; and a group of neuroscientists who examine conscience and morality via cutting-edge fMRI imaging techniques. Philip Zimbardo, whose 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment probed abusive aspects of the human mind, shares his library of images from the study. (50 minutes)

Sexy Inc.: A Critical Look at the Hypersexualization of Childhood (27:00)

The eroticization and physical objectification that are staples of the youth-focused business/media complex give the impression that exploitative, age-inappropriate sexuality is natural, normal, and even necessary. This documentary condemns the hypersexualization of kid culture and exposes the severely damaging effects of hypersexuality on young psyches—female, predominantly, but male as well. Pervasive Internet porn, which serves children as a toxic artificial standard for sexual intimacy, is also addressed. Commentary is provided by psychologist Sharon Lamb, medical and education professionals, and others working to offset the pernicious effects of “Sexy Inc.” in children’s lives. Contains mature themes and explicit language and imagery. A viewable/printable facilitation guide is available online. Original CBC broadcast title: Sexy Inc.: Our Children under Influence. (Portions in French with English subtitles, 26 minutes)

Abu Ghraib: A Torturer’s Tale (25:00)

Javal Davis was imprisoned for assaulting inmates at Abu Ghraib, but insists he is not a torturer. His fellow MP Ken Davis was never implicated, having reported the abuse to superiors. This program presents in-depth interviews with both men, detailing their side of the story and conveying their disillusionment with Pentagon officials who wanted interrogations pushed “up a notch.” Featuring nightmarish descriptions and images from inside the prison—highlighting deplorable conditions endured by inmates and guards alike—the program also includes insight into the mentality of reservist Charles Graner, currently serving a 10-year sentence for Abu Ghraib torture. Some content may be objectionable. (25 minutes)

Body Image for Boys (19:00)

As the idealized male physique continues to be hyped in movies, on TV, in magazines, and on billboards, a rapidly growing number of men are becoming obsessed with appearance. Each year alone, they spend billions on gym memberships and home exercise equipment—and women are no longer alone in battling anorexia and body dysmorphic disorder. This topical program explores some of the issues facing young men today as they struggle to define themselves amidst the flood of media-generated images of male physical perfection. Experts including Divya Kakaiya, the visionary founder and clinical director of the Healthy Within treatment center; Leigh Cohn, co-author of the seminal Making Weight: Men’s Conflicts with Food, Weight, Shape, and Appearance; and UCLA Healthcare sports medicine physician Gary Green as well as a number of young patients grapple with problems such as steroid abuse, eating disorders, exercise addiction, and phony food supplements. A viewable/printable instructor’s guide is available online. A Cambridge Educational Production. (18 minutes)

Confronting Discrimination and Prejudice (37:00)

Encourage students to explore biases and stereotypes with this group of ABC News segments. Each scenario puts actors into exchanges with unwitting bystanders, generating a wide range of responses—from overt hostility towards other races and cultures to acts of genuine compassion. Scenes include a bakery clerk’s refusal to serve a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf; cruelty towards an overweight woman seated on a boardwalk; a very public argument that threatens to become violent; and a purse-snatching in a crowded square, after which witnesses are asked to view a suspect lineup. Repeating the two latter situations, producers achieve varying reactions among onlookers by switching the races of the actors. (37 minutes)

Hate Groups USA (48:00)

Using the shocking racist murder of James Byrd as a starting point, this disturbing program investigates America’s proliferating hate groups. The KKK’s Charles Lee; the founder of Aryan Nations and his successor, Pastor Neumann Britton; and William Pierce, head of the National Alliance and author of The Turner Diaries, calmly proclaim their chilling views on "racial patriotism" and "positive hate." Countering, Julian Bond, of the NAACP; Irv Rubin, national chairman of the Jewish Defense League; Robert Blitzer, bureau chief of the FBI’s domestic terrorism unit; and others explore the mentality of intolerance, abetted by the subversive Christian Identity movement. Original BBC broadcast title: Heart of Darkness. (48 minutes)

Honorable Murder (57:00)

In many Middle Eastern countries, honor is so highly prized that it is considered more valuable than life itself. This program examines the code of conduct that makes each woman a sacred vessel of her family’s honor—and the practice of atoning for any family member’s breach of that code with her blood. Scholars, judges, and clergymen discuss the culturally sanctioned practice of "honorable murder," while fathers, brothers, and mothers talk about the communal pressure to adhere to the honor code and how the loss of daughters and sisters has affected their lives. Interviews with some of the "lucky" ones—women who were imprisoned rather than executed—are also included. (57 minutes)

Race and Sex: What We Think (But Can’t Say) (40:00)

Behind the conscious mind’s efforts to judge people on their merits, the subconscious categorizes by details such as gender, race, and age—just as it has done since the dawn of humankind. Can ethnic prejudice be overcome? What is the “stereotype effect”? Are there quantifiable differences that make one race superior to another in sports? Is it possible to visually perceive a person’s sexual orientation? In this ABC News program, John Stossel seeks answers to these and other questions through eye-opening social experiments and insights from Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow John McWhorter; renowned teacher Jane Elliott; Taboo author Jon Entine; J. Michael Bailey, of Northwestern University; Harvard University’s Anthony Greenwald; social psychologist John Dovidio; NYU’s Joshua Aaronson; and others. (39 minutes)

Understanding Hate Crimes: A Service for Jeremy (47:00)

What happens when intolerance and hatred lead to tragedy? A Service for Jeremy presents one scenario. Fifteen-year-old Jeremy is abducted and beaten to death by fellow high school students because he is gay. Such tragedies are routinely played out in various forms across the country as victims are targeted because they are Black, Hispanic, Asian, Jewish, poor, gay, or just different. This video closely follows a handful of students through the days immediately following the murder of Jeremy. From the confessions of the killers to the media coverage, visitation, and final service for the dead teenager, students question the forces that led to Jeremy’s murder and grapple with the task of organizing a memorial service for a student few people really knew.

Interspersed with comments and opinions from a variety of professionals, this fast-paced drama explores the doubts, prejudices, compassion, inhumanity, and overall decency of a group of teens at what could easily be any high school in the country. What would you do if this happened at your school? Do you really think no one would care?

A Cambridge Educational Production.

One 47-minute video.

Racial Stereotypes in the Media (42:00)

Although demeaning and offensive racial stereotypes were pervasive in popular media of every kind during the 20th century, most observers would agree that the media is much more sensitive to representations of race today. But the pernicious effects of that stereotyping live on in the new racism arising from disparities in the treatment of stories involving whites and people of color in a ratings-driven news market, media-enhanced isolationism as a result of narrowcasting, and other sources. This program examines the relationship between mass media and social constructions of race from political and economic perspectives while looking at the effects media can have on audiences. A Films for the Humanities & Sciences Production. (42 minutes)

Gay in Middle America: One Town’s Struggle with Religion and Bigotry (22:00)

An excellent sociological case study, this ABC News program examines the plight of Michael Shackelford, a 17-year-old homosexual struggling for acceptance in small-town Oklahoma. The video outlines the development of Shackelford’s situation: his early awareness of his sexual orientation, his inability to conform and placate his mother, the attention he receives in a Washington Post article, and the subsequent media abuse he and his church endure as a result. Complex and surprising in its observations—especially those concerning Shackelford’s Bible Belt community—the program sheds light on America’s increasingly troublesome cultural divisions. (23 minutes)