Fun Demonstrations and Activities for Teaching Social Psychology
Julie Allison, Ph.D.
Pittsburg State University
Presented at the 14th Annual Convention of the Kansas Teachers of Psychology
in Secondary Schools (KTOPSS), Emporia, Kansas, October, 2008
Living Experiments, by Scott Pious
Wesleyan University
www.socialpsychology.org
Living Experiment: Day of Nonviolence
This assignment is the third Living Experiment of the semester. Successful completion of the assignment will add
five points to your course total.
Step I: Participate in the Day of Nonviolence
For one day, our class will observe a "Day of Nonviolence." To participate in this event, your challenge will be to
live each minute of that day in as nonviolent and peaceful a way as possible. In other words, for a full 24-hour
period you should do your best to live in harmony with others and avoid causing harm.
When carrying out this assignment, leave no behavior unexamined -- from washing your face to talking on the
telephone to eating lunch to watching TV. That is, don't just avoid obvious acts of physical or verbal violence; strive
for the deepest level of nonviolence in your heart without being phony or insincere. It is up to you to define what
nonviolence is and to decide how best to realize it.
Note: To minimize any bias in social reactions, it is best if you do not tell others about the class assignment until
after the Day of Nonviolence is over.
Step II: Write About Your Experience
At the beginning of class on November 25th, turn in a social psychological analysis of what the day was like
(limited to one typewritten doubled-spaced page using 12-point font and 1" margins). Here are some sample
questions you might address:
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How did you define nonviolence, and what did you focus your efforts on?
If your behavior was different than normal, which person did you like more: the "Day of Nonviolence you"
or the "normal you"? If you preferred the "Day of Nonviolence you," what are the psychological factors
that prevent this "you" from coming out?
What are the psychological costs and benefits of behaving nonviolently? In your view, do the benefits
outweigh the costs?
How did others respond to your nonviolence? Do you think they noticed a difference in your behavior?
What attributions did people make for your behavior, and why?
If you wanted to encourage others to behave as you did during the Day of Nonviolence, what
psychological techniques would you use? How can social psychology be used to foster a less violent
society?
If you were to predict your behavior one month from now, do you think it will be changed in any way as a
result of participating in the Day of Nonviolence? If so, how? If not, why not?
Part I: Participate in the Day of Compassion
Our Social Psychology class will observe a "Day of Compassion." To participate in this event,
your challenge will be to live each minute of that day in as compassionate a way as possible. In
other words, for a full 24-hour period you should do your best to care for others, to be
considerate and respectful, and to avoid causing harm to any living being.
When carrying out this assignment, leave no behavior unexamined -- from talking on the telephone to eating lunch
to watching TV. That is, don't limit yourself to simply holding the door open for a stranger or petting a lonely dog;
think about all the unnecessary suffering in the world, and strive for the greatest impact and deepest level of
compassion without being phony or insincere. It is up to you to define what compassion is and to decide how best
to realize it.
If you are already quite compassionate, try being compassionate toward groups you don't often focus on, and even
if your actions don't differ much from how you normally behave, be sure to carefully observe and analyze what
transpires during the experience. If outside events make it difficult for you to participate on the designated day, or if
you feel dissatisfied with your performance of the assignment, feel free to repeat the exercise on a later day.
Note: To minimize any bias in social reactions, it is best if you do not tell others about the class assignment until
after the Day of Compassion is over.
Part II: Write About Your Experience
At the beginning of class on December 4th, turn in a social
psychological analysis of what the day was like (limited to one
typewritten doubled-spaced page using 12-point font and 1"
margins). Here are a few sample questions you might address:
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"The problem is whether we are
determined to go in the direction of
compassion or not. If we are, then can we
reduce the suffering to a minimum? If I
lose my direction, I have to look for the
North Star, and I go to the north. That does
not mean I expect to arrive at the North
Star. I just want to go in that direction."
How did you define compassion, and who were the
recipients of your efforts?
If your behavior was different than normal, which person
did you like more: the "Day of Compassion you" or the
"normal you"? If you preferred the "Day of Compassion
~Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace (1987)
you," what are the psychological factors that prevent this
"you" from coming out?
What are the psychological costs and benefits of behaving compassionately? In your view, do the benefits
outweigh the costs?
How did others respond to your compassion? Do you think they noticed a difference in your behavior?
What attributions did people make for your behavior, and why?
If you wanted to encourage others to behave as you did during the Day of Compassion, what
psychological techniques would you use? How can social psychology be used to foster a more
compassionate society?
If you were to predict your behavior one month from now, do you think it will be changed in any way as a
result of participating in the Day of Compassion? If so, how? If not, why not?
Participate in the Day of Nonconformity
our Social Psychology class will observe a "Day of Nonconformity." To participate in this event, your challenge will
be to live each minute of that day in a way that is as uninfluenced as possible by conformity pressures to appear
cool, fit in with a group, or go along with others to be liked or accepted. In other words, for a full 24-hour period you
should live in a way that is true to yourself while not infringing on the rights of others.
When carrying out this assignment, leave no behavior unexamined -- from washing your face to eating lunch to
talking with friends to watching TV. That is, don't just avoid obvious acts of phoniness or insincerity; strive for the
deepest level of authenticity, in whatever way you define it for yourself. The goal is not to be different, unique, or
selfish, but to be your own person.
Note: To minimize any bias in social reactions, it is best if you do not tell others about the class assignment until
after the Day of Nonconformity is over. Also, under no circumstances should you behave in a way that harms
others or is unethical or illegal (yes, this means keeping your clothes on in public).
Step II: Write About Your Experience
At the beginning of class on October 7th, turn in a social psychological analysis of what the day was like (limited to
one typewritten doubled-spaced page using 12-point font and 1" margins). Here are some sample questions you
might address:
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How did you define nonconformity, and what did you focus your efforts on?
If your behavior was different than normal, which person did you like more: the "Day of Nonconformity
you" or the "normal you"? If you preferred the "Day of Nonconformity you," what are the psychological
factors that prevent this "you" from coming out?
What are the psychological costs and benefits of living authentically? In your view, do the benefits
outweigh the costs?
How did others respond to your nonconformity? Do you think they noticed a difference in your behavior?
What attributions did people make for your behavior, and why?
If you wanted to encourage others to behave as you did during the Day of Nonconformity, what
psychological techniques would you use?
If you were to predict your behavior one month from now, do you think it will be changed in any way as a
result of participating in the Day of Nonconformity? If so, how? If not, why not?
www.socialpsychology.org
Maintained by Scott Pious, Wesleyan University
Relevant Web Sites
www.socialpsychology.org
This site provides a vast amount of information, including profiles of social psychologists, teaching ideas,
the latest research, and links to other sites about social psychology.
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/
This web site presents a method that demonstrates the differences between unconscious (or
non-conscious) and conscious memory and attitudes. Harvard University has developed a
method of assessing such differences on a variety of social issues. This new method is called
the Implicit Association Test, or IAT for short. This may be done on-line in for demonstration
purposes, or students may also choose to contribute to the research data base.
www.psychology.iastate.edu/~glwells/
Gary Wells is a leader in the area of eyewitness memory and accuracy. This web site contains
research articles, as well as a demonstration of a “mock” crime followed by a line-up where
students can seek to identify the “criminal.”
www.cwu.edu/~warren/calender
This is just for fun. It provides important historical events in psychology for every calendar day.
They may particularly enjoy learning about what events occurred on their birthday.
facultystaff.richmond.edu/~dforsyth/gd/
On this site is a vast amount of information, teaching tools, and on-line assessments relevant to
group dynamics. While many of the teaching tools were created for college students, they could
easily be modified for the secondary school level.