Archive - The Power of Us

Why are we suckers for Astrology, the Myers-Briggs, and other shaky psychology tests?

Issue 119: Our hot take on phony personality tests and zodiacs

May 21, 2024 •

Dominic Packer & Jay Van Bavel

Debunking Popular Psychology Myths: The Bystander Effect

Issue 134: Our first column in a series debunking the biggest myths in the history of social psychology

Sep 5, 2024 •

Dominic Packer & Jay Van Bavel

Debunking Popular Psychology Myths: The Stanford Prison Experiment

Issue 136: Shining a light on evidence that was left out of the findings from the Stanford Prison Experiment.

Oct 1, 2024 •

Dominic Packer & Jay Van Bavel

How to keep your New Year's Resolutions

Issue 100: The psychology of why people fail to achieve their New Year's Resolutions & how to keep yours + we share our own resolutions for 2024

Dec 31, 2023 •

Dominic Packer & Jay Van Bavel

The four dark laws of online engagement and the science of group psychology

Issue 120: The "devil's playbook" for dark behavior online

May 28, 2024 •

How to talk about climate change and the problem with doomerism

Issue 107: We conducted one of the largest experiments ever on climate change behavior — with advice from MythBusters' Jamie Hyneman

Feb 27, 2024 •

Dominic Packer & Jay Van Bavel

Debunking The Myth That Conformity Is Irrational

Issue 165: We revisit the famous conformity studies from Solomon Asch and explain that most people have learned the wrong lessons about conformity

Apr 29 •

Dominic Packer & Jay Van Bavel

Why dance classes are good for your mental health

Issue 166: Four key social psychological elements of healthy groups, as told through lived experiences in my Zumba class

May 6 •

What Does it Mean to Defy and Why Does It Matter? An Interview with Sunita Sah

Issue 153: Why it's important to understand defiance as a skill, not a personality trait

Jan 20 •

Dominic Packer & Jay Van Bavel

and

How to create new norms in groups

Issue 101: A story about behavioral contagion and how you can harness the power of social norms

Jan 9, 2024 •

Dominic Packer & Jay Van Bavel

Debunking Popular Psychology Myths #4: Milgram's Obedience Experiments

Issue 140: We discuss the myth of obedience in Stanley Milgram's shocking experiments

Nov 5, 2024 •

Dominic Packer & Jay Van Bavel

Is it possible to overcome climate polarization?

Issue #154: The biggest lessons from climate change studies in psychology

Jan 31 •

Dominic Packer & Jay Van Bavel

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