PSYC 215 Chapter 2: PSYC 215 - Chp 2

• School: McGill University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 215
• Professor: Mark Baldwin

Document Summary

Sent out letters to employers pretending to be a job applicant with a felony. He was charged with manslaughter and told them the story about what had happened (self-defence) I(cid:374)(cid:448)estigato(cid:396)s (cid:373)easu(cid:396)ed the deg(cid:396)ee to (cid:449)hi(cid:272)h the e(cid:373)plo(cid:455)e(cid:396)s (cid:396)espo(cid:374)ded to the appli(cid:272)a(cid:374)t"s i(cid:374)(cid:395)ui(cid:396)(cid:455) Some employers sent application forms, contact info and even in some cases a note. They judged the note based on how sympathetic the employer sounded, how encouraging and personal it (cid:449)as a(cid:374)d (cid:449)hethe(cid:396) the(cid:455) app(cid:396)e(cid:272)iated the appli(cid:272)a(cid:374)t"s (cid:272)a(cid:374)do(cid:396) Retailers from south complied more than those from the north. Notes from south were much warmer and kinder than those from the north. The researchers employed most of the methods at the disposal of the social psychologist (deepening our understanding of human behaviour to help us improve many types of social outcomes). Many situations (interviews, initiations, dates) can contain surprises and pitfalls that social psych research can help us anticipate and avoid.