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Shocking Psychological Studies and the Lessons They Teach

Brace yourself for some shocking psychological studies-not all of them ethical-that shape what we know of human behavior.
Shocking Psychological Studies and the Lessons They Teach is rated 4.7 out of 5 by 32.
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Rated 5 out of 5 by from Very interesting! Great presentation! This is by far the best series I've watched on Wondrium. Everything else I've wanted information on has been a disappointment. Dr. Thad Polk kept my attention. His lectures were about people and ethics and science and weren't too technical and dry. I especially loved that he sat to deliver this series. Those other lectures that have the presenters walking around and turning around into the camera every few seconds are SO annoying. I thought Dr. Polk was engaging and presented relevant and interesting information in an easy-to-understand and entertaining manner. I would have loved to have a professor like him in my college Psychology classes. I will be trying to find more material that Dr. Polk has recorded or written after this. I wish there were more than six lectures. I watched all six in a row and could have watched more.
Date published: 2023-02-19
Rated 5 out of 5 by from This met my expectations. Especially interesting overview for folks who are not in the profession. The content and duration were appropriate for the very reasonable cost. I appreciated the professor's suggestions regarding how some of the weaknesses in research could be remedied. The professor's affect was objective and professional.
Date published: 2022-10-31
Rated 1 out of 5 by from Nag Nag Nag This is the 5th request for a review on this series. I understand that reviews are important. It is also important to me that I watch these courses when I can do so without interruption. Getting 5 reminders is going over the top. Have watched 2 so far and nothing is pulling me in to watch the others anytime soon. And I have to turn off my ad blocker to submit this review. Wont be buying any more courses, stop sending me catalogs.
Date published: 2022-08-08
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Really good! Exactly what I was hoping for. Why only 6 sessions? I would love more chapters!
Date published: 2022-08-02
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Excellent, informative, well presented. I have learned so much! Thank you!
Date published: 2022-06-08
Rated 4 out of 5 by from Good Coverage Excellent coverage of critical experiments that have received acclaim and criticism over the years. Provides a good introduction to the experiments and serves as a basis for more in-depth study.
Date published: 2022-04-18
Rated 5 out of 5 by from An Excellent course What an Excellent and sad course DrThad,In this course you will hear a shocking truths that will make you wondering that some scientists are monsters wearing human clothes,they can do anything to reach their goals even if that mean torturing innocent people,you will see the evil,dark side of science. Dr.Thad is a very good teacher he will explain to you difficult facts and informations in a simple,straightforward manner.
Date published: 2022-03-17
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Important lessons Professor Polk delivers the course material with an engaging and entertaining presentation. The course is a sobering look at how psychological studies of human behavior without guardrails can turn the subjects into mere guinea pigs.
Date published: 2022-01-20
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Overview

Consider the significance-and the ethical failings-of several, impactful 20th-century psychological studies that continue to influence our knowledge of human behavior.

About

Thad Polk

Every aspect of our mental life is controlled by the brain. So if we ever hope to understand the human mind, and how it's affected by aging, by disease, and by drugs, then we need to develop a better understanding of the brain and the neural mechanisms that underlie cognition.

INSTITUTION

University of Michigan

Professor Thad A. Polk is an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor in the Department of Psychology and the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan. He received a B.A. in Mathematics from the University of Virginia and an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Computer Science and Psychology from Carnegie Mellon University. He also received postdoctoral training in cognitive neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania.

Professor Polk's research combines functional imaging of the human brain with computational modeling and behavioral methods to investigate the neural architecture underlying cognition. Some of his major projects have investigated differences in the brains of smokers who quit compared with those who do not, changes in the brain as we age, and contributions of nature versus nurture to neural organization. Professor Polk regularly collaborates with scientists at the University of Texas at Dallas and at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin, where he is a frequent visiting scientist.

Professor Polk regularly teaches on topics ranging from the human mind and brain, to cognitive psychology, to computational modeling of cognition. His teaching at the University of Michigan has been recognized by numerous awards, and he was named to The Princeton Review's list of the Best 300 Professors in the United States.

By This Professor

The Addictive Brain
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The Learning Brain
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The Aging Brain
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Shocking Psychological Studies and the Lessons They Teach
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Shocking Psychological Studies and the Lessons They Teach

Trailer

Lessons from Tuskegee and Facebook

01: Lessons from Tuskegee and Facebook

Today, research with human subjects is guided by a set of three ethical principles of the 1976 Belmont Report, but that was not always the case. In the first lecture of this six-lecture course, Professor Polk explores the famous Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment and how its ethical violations ultimately led to the development of the Belmont Report and the ethical principles it identified.

32 min
Pushing Good People to Do Bad Things

02: Pushing Good People to Do Bad Things

Why do good people sometimes do bad things? Professor Polk encourages us to grapple with two of the most famous psychological studies on ethics and human psychology: Milgram’s Obedience Study and the Stanford Prison Experiment. Each study offers invaluable lessons about human behavior. Look at the ways that these explorations into the causes of unethical human behavior were, themselves, astonishingly unethical.

31 min
Experimenting on Vulnerable Children

03: Experimenting on Vulnerable Children

Arguably, the most vulnerable people in any population are the children. Childhood development studies can also provide invaluable insights into human psychology. Here, explore two studies where children were the focus: Neubauer’s twin study and Johnson’s “Monster Study” of testing the origins of stuttering. Discover why, according to the Belmont Report’s principles, these “subjects” might be identified more accurately as “victims.”

29 min
Testing Psychochemical Weapons

04: Testing Psychochemical Weapons

Government organizations such as the CIA and military are charged with protecting the public, but in these shocking experiments, vulnerable low-ranking soldiers and psychiatric patients were unwittingly subjected to psychoactive drugs. Uncover the ways in which these observational studies lacked both rigorous scientific design and adherence to any of the Belmont Report’s principles. In fact, the results of these studies often led to hallucinations, paranoia, rage, and even death.

29 min
Assigning Gender and Spying on Sex

05: Assigning Gender and Spying on Sex

Studies of sex and sexual identity present unique ethical challenges for privacy and consent. In the next two studies, Professor Polk takes you into the private world of sexual identity and impulse. The Tearoom Trade Study considers the public identities and private choices of anonymous public sex participants. The John/Joan case explores the sexual identity of a biologically male child raised as a female.

30 min
Current and Future Ethical Challenges

06: Current and Future Ethical Challenges

Science still grapples with the ethics of studying human subjects. Increasingly, data is available about every aspect of human life through our uninhibited interactions with technology. The study of such data sets is affordable, widely generalizable, and easily accessible. But is it ethical? You’ll also discover that the conclusions presented in scientific journals, even under our more rigorous ethical guidelines, may not be as reliable as we thought.

32 min