Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave

by Adam Alter

  Some pundits describe society as “post-racial”: Kaplan, H. R. (2011). The myth of post-racial America: Searching for equality in the age of materialism. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield; Parks, G., and Hughey, M. (2011). The Obamas and a (post) racial America? Series in Political Psychology. New York: Oxford University Press; Tesler, M., and Sears, D. O. (2010). Obama’s race: The 2008 election and the dream of a post-racial America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

  Name-letter effect: Nuttin, J. M., Jr. (1985). Narcissism beyond Gestalt and awareness: The name-letter effect. European Journal of Social Psychology, 15, 353–361; Nuttin, J. M., Jr. (1987). Affective consequences of mere ownership: The name-letter effect in twelve European languages. European Journal of Social Psychology, 17, 381–402. A recent paper has cast doubt on a number of prominent name-letter effects, so I chose to omit them from the book. See Simonsohn, U. (2011). Spurious? Name similarity effects (implicit egotism) in marriage, job, and moving decisions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 1–24.

  Hurricane donations: Chandler, J., Griffin, T. M., and Sorenson, N. (2008). In the “I” of the storm: Shared initials increase disaster donations. Judgment and Decision Making, 3, 404–410.

  Surname effect: Carlson, K. A., and Conard, J. M. (2011). The last name effect: How last name influences acquisition timing. Journal of Consumer Research, 38, 300–307.

  Name fluency: For a comprehensive review of fluency, see Alter, A. L., and Oppenheimer, D. M. (2009). Uniting the tribes of fluency to form a metacognitive nation. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 13, 219–235.

  Political candidates with good and bad names: O’Sullivan, C. S., Chen, A., Mohapatra, S., Sigelman, L., and Lewis, E. (1988). Voting in ignorance: The politics of smooth-sounding names. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 18, 1094–1106. See also Yardley, W. (November 10, 2010). Nurkowski? Makowski? Murckoski? Counting the write-in votes in Alaska. New York Times. Available at http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/10/nurkowski-makowski-murckoski-counting-the-write-in-votes-in-alaska/.

  Name fluency and success at law firms: Laham, S., Koval, P., and Alter, A. L. (2012). The name-pronunciation effect: Why people like Mr. Smith more than Mr. Colquhoun. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 48, 752–756.

  Stock market performance and names: Alter, A. L., and Oppenheimer, D. M. (2006). Predicting short-term stock fluctuations by using processing fluency. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 103, 9369–9372.

  Cuddly and powerful names: Köhler, W. (1929). Gestalt psychology. New York: Liveright; Maurer, D., Pathman, T., and Mondloch, C. J. (2006). The shape of boubas: Sound-shape correspondences in toddlers and adults. Developmental Science, 9, 316–322.

  Chapter 2: Labels

  Russian blues experiments: Winawer, J., Witthoft, N., Frank, M. C., Wu, L., Wade, A. R., and Boroditsky, L. (2007). Russian blues reveal effects of language on color discrimination. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104, 7780–7785. On brain regions: Tan, L. H., Chan, A. H. D., Kay, P., Khong, P. L., Yip, L. K. C., and Luke, K. K. (2008). Language affects patterns of brain activation associated with perceptual decision. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105, 4004–4009.

  Whorfian linguistic relativity: Much of Whorf’s work is collected here: Whorf, B. (1956). Language, thought, and reality: Selected writings of Benjamin Lee Whorf. John B. Carroll (ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

  Seeing a face according to its race: Eberhardt, J. L., Dasgupta, N., and Banaszynski, T. L. (2003). Believing is seeing: The effects of racial labels and implicit beliefs on face perception. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 360–370.

  Seeing darkness of face according to its race: Levin, D. T., and Banaji, M. R. (2006). Distortions in the perceived lightness of faces: The role of race categories. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 135, 501–512.

  Image of three faces: Appears courtesy of American Psychological Association, publisher of Levin and Banaji (2006). Distortions in the perceived lightness of faces: The role of race categories.

  Claims about working-class aptitude: Beckford, M. (June 4, 2008). Working classes “lack intelligence to be doctors,” claims academic. Telegraph. Available at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2074651/Working-classes-lack-intelligence-to-be-doctors-claims-academic.html.

  Hannah experiment: Darley, J. M., and Gross, P. H. (1983). A hypothesis-confirming bias in labeling effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44, 20–33.

  Ptolemy’s decision to place north above south: Boorstin, D. (1983). The discoverers. New York: Random House.

  People believe north to be above south: Nelson, L. D., and Simmons, J. P. (2009). On southbound ease and northbound fees: Literal consequences of the metaphoric link between vertical position and cardinal direction. Journal of Marketing Research, 46, 715–724; Meier, B. P., Moller, A. C., Chen, J., and Riemer-Peltz, M. (2011). Spatial metaphor and real estate: North-south location biases housing preference. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2, 547–553.

  The QWERTY effect: Jasmin, K., and Casasanto, D. (2012). The QWERTY effect: How typing shapes the meanings of words. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review. The effect has received plenty of attention from bloggers, and Casasanto’s response is available at http://www.casasanto.com/QWERTY.html.

  Jane Elliott’s classroom demonstration: Bloom, S. G. (2005). Lesson of a lifetime. Smithsonian, 36, 82–87.

  Bloomers in the classroom: Rosenthal, R., and Jacobson, L. (1992). Pygmalion in the classroom. New York: Irvington.

  Different languages paint different worlds: Levinson, S. C. (2003). Space in language and cognition: Explorations in cognitive diversity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; Boroditsky, L., Schmidt, L., and Phillips, W. (2003). Sex, syntax, and semantics. In Language in mind: Advances in the study of language and thought. D. Gentner and S. Goldin-Meadow (eds.), 61–68. London: MIT Press.

  John Haviland and the Guugu Yimithirr: Deutscher, G. (2010). Through the language glass: Why the world looks different in other languages. New York: Picador.

  Loftus’s memory studies: Loftus, E. F., and Palmer, J. C. (1974). Reconstruction of automobile destruction: An example of the interaction between language and memory. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 13, 585–589.

  Phantom scar experiment: Kleck, R. E., and Strenta, A. (1980). Perceptions of the impact of negatively valued physical characteristics on social interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 861–873.

  Hysteria, borderline personality disorder, ADHD: Briggs, L. (2000). The race of hysteria: “Overcivilization” and the “savage” woman in late nineteenth-century obstetrics and gynecology. American Quarterly, 52, 246–273; Aviram, R. B., Brodsky, B. S., and Stanley, B. (2006). Borderline personality disorder, stigma, and treatment implications. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 14, 249–256; Beard, G. (1880). A practical treatise on nervous exhaustion. New York: William Wood; Elder, T. E. (2010). The importance of relative standards in ADHD diagnoses: evidence based on exact birth dates. Journal of Health Economics, 29, 641–656.

  Chapter 3: Symbols

  John Mock’s swastika building: Sydney Morning Herald, available at http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/complex-mistake/2007/09/27/1190486482564.html; Jewish Sightseeing blog, available at http://www.jewishsightseeing.com/dhh_weblog/2006-blog/2006-12/2006-12-13-coronado-swastika.htm. Another building, a retirement home in Decatur, Alabama, has the same profile from the air, available at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23633404/ns/us_news-life/. Note that the Nazi swastika was right-facing, with the four L-shapes rotating clockwise. Some religious swastikas (sometimes called sauwastikas) are left-facing, with the L-shapes rotating counterclockwise.

  Swastika experiment: Alter, A. L., and Kwan, V. S. Y. (2012). How symbols shape thinking. (Unpublished manuscript.) New York University.

  Apple logo e
xperiment: Fitzsimons, G. M., Chartrand, T. L., and Fitzsimons, G. J. (2008). Automatic effects of brand exposure on motivated behavior: How Apple makes you “think different.” Journal of Consumer Research, 35, 21–35.

  Lightbulb experiment: Slepian, M. L., Weisbuch, M., Rutchick, A. M., Newman, L. S., and Ambady, N. (2010). Shedding light on insight: Priming bright ideas. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46, 696–700.

  Burning money and the K Foundation: Reid, J. (1994). Money to burn. Observer. Available at http://www.libraryofmu.org/display-resource.php?id=387. A YouTube video captures the burning money at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOMsJBinU_o.

  Scanning people’s brains as they watch money destroyed: Becchio, C., Skewes, J., Lund, T. E., Frith, U., Frith, C., and Roepstorff, A. (2011). How the brain responds to the destruction of money. Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics, 4, 1–10.

  Experiments on money and independence, helping, and pain: Vohs, K. D., Mead, N., and Goode, M. R. (2006). The psychological consequences of money. Science, 314, 1154–1156; Vohs, K. D., Mead, N. L., Goode, M. R. (2008). Merely activating the concept of money changes personal and interpersonal behavior. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 17, 208–212; Zhou, X., Vohs, K. D., and Baumeister, R. F. (2009). The symbolic power of money: Reminders of money alter social distress and physical pain. Psychological Science, 20, 700–706.

  Chávez and flag protests: Government video criticizing the flag protest, available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31QJEFvYmMI.

  Barbara Frietchie flag quote: Whittier, John Greenleaf (1864). “Barbara Frietchie.” Available at http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/barbara-frietchie/.

  American flag primes liberty: Butz, D., Plant, E. A., and Doerr, C. E. (2007). Liberty and justice for all? Implications of exposure to the U.S. flag for intergroup relations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 396–408.

  Israeli flag primes centrism: Hassin, R. R., Ferguson, M. J., Shidlovski, D., and Gross, T. (2007). Subliminal exposure to national flags affects political thought and behavior. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104, 19757–19761.

  For news watchers, American flag primes aggression: Ferguson, M. J., and Hassin, R. R. (2007). On the automatic association between America and aggression for news watchers. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 1632–1647.

  Cross primes honesty in Christians: Alter, A. L., and Kwan, V. S. Y. (2012). How symbols shape thinking. (Unpublished manuscript.) New York University.

  Pope primes poorer self-conception: Baldwin, M. W., Carrell, S. E., and Lopez, D. F. (1990). Priming relationship schemas: My advisor and the Pope are watching me from the back of my mind. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 26, 435–454.

  Purchasing with real and altered currency: Alter, A. L., and Oppenheimer, D. M. (2008). Easy on the mind, easy on the wallet: The effects of familiarity and fluency on currency valuation. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 15, 985–990.

  Chapter 4: The Mere Presence of Other People

  Eyes as surveillance in Newcastle University psychology department coffee room: Bateson, M., Nettle, D., and Roberts, G. (2006). Cues of being watched enhance cooperation in a real-world setting. Biology Letters, 2, 412–414.

  Genie’s enforced isolation: Documentary discussing Genie and her partial recovery, available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEnkY2iaKis. The Wild Boy of Aveyron is another classic case. Some experts believe he may have been autistic, making it difficult to determine how he responded to social deprivation. See, for example, the case study on BBC Radio 4 (November 30, 2008): The Wild Boy of Aveyron: Claudia Hammond presents. 23:40 UTC. Available at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00b7lrb.

  Schachter’s isolation experiment: Schachter, S. (1959). The psychology of affiliation. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

  Cave experiments by Michel Siffre: Interview with Michel Siffre: Foer, J., and Siffre, M. (2008). Caveman: An interview with Michel Siffre. Cabinet. Available at http://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/30/foer.php.

  Grassian’s inmates: Grassian, S. (1983). Psychopathological effects of solitary confinement. American Journal of Psychiatry, 140, 1450–1454.

  Haney’s studies at Pelican Bay: Haney, C. W. (2003). Mental health issues in long-term solitary confinement and “supermax” confinement. Crime and Delinquency, 49, 124–156. See also Atul Gawande’s article on the same topic: Gawande, A. (March 30, 2009). Hellhole. New Yorker. Available at http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/30/090330fa_fact_gawande; and Vasiliades, E. (2005). Solitary confinement and international human rights: Why the U.S. prison system fails global standards. American University International Law Review, 21, 71–99.

  Some questions can only be answered with a comparison standard: Hsee, C. K., and Zhang, J. (2010). General evaluability theory. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5, 343–355. Energy use statistics available at http://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/index.cfm.

  Opower: Information on the Opower website: www.opower.com.

  Noor and Brazilian soap opera: Rohde, D. (March 8, 2012). Inside Islam’s culture war. Reuters. Available at http://blogs.reuters.com/david-rohde/2012/03/08/inside-islams-culture-war/; Gubash, C. (July 31, 2008). Soap opera upends traditional Arab gender roles. NBC News World Blog. Available at http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2008/07/31/4376465-soap-opera-upends-traditional-arab-gender-roles; Associated Press (July 27, 2008). Soap opera shakes customs of Arab married life. Available at http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/entertainment&id=6290501; Emirates 24/7 (April 4, 2012). Turkish soap opera blamed for UAE divorces. Available at http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/turkish-soap-opera-blamed-for-uae-divorces-2012-04-04-1.452235; Infoniac.com (April 6, 2009). More divorces and less children in Brazil due to racy soap operas. Available at http://www.infoniac.com/offbeat-news/more-divorces-and-less-children-in-brazil-due-to-racy-soap-operas.html.

  Maier’s hints in the cord task: Maier, N. R. F. (1931). Reasoning in humans: II. The solution of a problem and its appearance in consciousness. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 12, 181–194.

  Steve McClaren: Two illustrations of McClaren’s staccato pseudo-Dutch available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZnoP4sUV90; and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhtq1ObGHy8.

  Gaits synchronize when we talk on cell phones: Murray-Smith, R., Ramsay, A., Garrod, S., Jackson, M., and Musizza, B. (2007). Gait alignment in mobile phone conversations. Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Human Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services, 214–221.

  Chameleon effect studies: Chartrand, T. L., and Bargh, J. A. (1999). The chameleon effect: The perception-behavior link and social interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 893–910; Tanner, R. J., Ferraro, R., Chartrand, T. L., Bettman, J. R., and van Baaren, R. (2008). Of chameleons and consumption: The impact of mimicry on choice and preferences. Journal of Consumer Research, 35, 754–766; Lakin, J. L., Jefferis, V. E., Cheng, C. M., and Chartrand, T. L. (2003). The chameleon effect as social glue: Evidence for the evolutionary significance of nonconscious mimicry. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 27, 145–162. Note that mimicry has to go unnoticed by onlookers, otherwise it reflects poorly on the mimicker: Kavanagh, L. C., Suhler, C. L., Churchland, P. S., and Winkielman, P. (2011). When it’s an error to mirror: The surprising reputational costs of mimicry. Psychological Science, 22, 1274–1276.

  Triplett’s studies: Triplett, N. (1898). The dynamogenic factors in pacemaking and competition. American Journal of Psychology, 9, 507–533.

  Social inhibition study: Pessin, J., and Husband, R. W. (1933). Effects of social stimulation on human maze learning. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 28, 148–154.

  Zajonc’s cockroaches: Zajonc, R. B. (1965). Social facilitation. Science, 149, 269–274; Zajonc, R. B. (1966). Social facilitation of dominant and subordinate responses. Journal of Experimental
Social Psychology, 2, 160–168.

  Novice and expert pool players: Michaels, J. W., Blommel, J. M., Brocato, R. M., Linkous, R. A., and Rowe, J. S. (1982). Social facilitation and inhibition in a natural setting. Replications in Social Psychology, 2, 21–24.

  People do better against fewer competitors: Garcia, S. M., and Tor, A. (2009). The N-Effect: More competitors, less competition. Psychological Science, 20, 871–877.

  Tragic story of Hugo Tale-Yax: Sulzberger, A. G., and Meenan, M. (April 26, 2010). Questions surround a delay in help for a dying man. Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/nyregion/26homeless.html.

  Kitty Genovese’s death: The New York Times has a fascinating collection of articles on the case, available at http://www.nytimes.com/keyword/kitty-genovese.

  Darley and Latané’s bystander intervention studies: Seizing student: Darley, J. M., and Latané, B. (1968). Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 8, 377–383; smoke-filled room: Latané, B., and Darley, J. M. (1968). Group inhibition of bystander intervention in emergencies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 10, 215–221.

  Chapter 5: The Characteristics of Other People

  Maslow’s childhood: The entire fall 2008 issue of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology was devoted to recounting Maslow’s life and intellectual legacy. See especially Hoffman, E. (2008). Abraham Maslow: A biographer’s reflections. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 48, 439–443. See also Hoffman, E. (1988). The right to be human: A biography of Abraham Maslow. New York: St. Martin’s.

  Maslow’s hierarchy: Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, 50, 370–396. Some psychologists are particularly critical of Maslow’s suggestion that people pursue the motives in order, beginning with the lower-order motives and moving on to the higher-order motives. See, for example, Wahba, M. A., and Bridwell, L. G. (1974). Maslow reconsidered: A review of research on the need hierarchy theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 15, 212–240. Others question whether the hierarchy applies to people who live outside Western culture: Hofstede, G. (1984). The cultural relativity of the quality of life concept. Academy of Management Review, 9, 389–398.