Brilliant social experiment by the original Candid Camera crew

Watch them play mind tricks on unsuspecting victims in an elevator.

What makes us cheat?

Interesting experiments on what influences people’s tendency to cheat.

Summary
Behavioral economist Dan Ariely studies the bugs in our moral code: the hidden reasons we think it’s OK to cheat or steal (sometimes). Clever studies help make his point that we’re predictably irrational — and can be influenced in ways we can’t grasp.

The Stanford Prison Experiment

In my series on evil: the author of the famous Stanford Prison Experiment.

Summary

Philip Zimbardo was the leader of the notorious 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment — and an expert witness at Abu Ghraib

Philip Zimbardo knows how easy it is for nice people to turn bad. In this talk, he shares insights and graphic unseen photos from the Abu Ghraib trials. Then he talks about the flip side: how easy it is to be a hero, and how we can rise to the challenge.

Notes

For those of you who are interested there’s a very good German movie inspired by the experiment called Das Experiment.

Shaking hands with the devil

Very inspiring talk about making tough moral decisions and compromises.

Summary
Samantha Power tells a story of a complicated hero, Sergio Vieira de Mello. This UN diplomat walked a thin moral line, negotiating with the world’s worst dictators to help their people survive crisis. It’s a compelling story told with a fiery passion.

Rules and Incentives are killing our moral will and skill

Another great talk by Barry Schwartz; builds up slowly … ends with a standing ovation.

Summary

Barry Schwartz makes a passionate call for “practical wisdom” as an antidote to a society gone mad with bureaucracy. He argues powerfully that rules often fail us, incentives often backfire, and practical, everyday wisdom will help rebuild our world.

Barry Schwartz studies the link between economics and psychology, offering startling insights into modern life. Lately, working with Ken Sharpe, he’s studying wisdom.

The Paradox of Choice

I grew up thinking freedom of choice is an unequivocally good thing, that happiness is correlated with the amount of choice we have: the more freedom, the happier, right?

But what if that was not true?

Research into the correlation between freedom of choice and happiness yields surprising results as shown in these two videos.

Barry Schwartz

Dan Gilbert

Moral humility

In this fascinating 20min video, psychologist Jonathan Haidt, starts by explaining the origins of moral, then the link with political views to conclude with an inspiring bit on moral humility.