Control and health Be skeptical Results don’t replicate May depend on person and context
Crowding vs. density Density purely physical (neutral) Number vs. space Crowding as feeling (negative) High density may cause crowding
High density and other animals Negative effects yes, but… only when resources limited –Not enough food, space for nests, etec. Number more important than space –Doubling space doesn’t change effect
High density and humans Prison effects not due to density Cities not harmful (crime, mental illness) No evidence for the urban overload idea Control probably not a factor
Density-intensity Higher density Intensifies social reactions Bad situation made worse Good situation made better
conclusions Among humans - crowding not a factor does not explain differences does not cause crime
Personal space Meaning depends on context Close can be aggressive or friendly Assertive or sexy And Depends on culture and background
Context, context, context Density, noise, space, control All depend on context And on individual’s reaction
Eyewitness identification Eyewitnesses unreliable More confident not necessarily more accurate Identification usually done poorly Main cause of wrongful convictions
Pretrial publicity Less effect than one might think None if repeated in trial Only if very strong evidence
confessions Believed even if retracted Because hard to imagine confessing if innocent Yet people do confess when innocent Especially young people Pressure often subtle So juries believe if coercion shown
Summary Scientific vs. non-scientific Correlations do not mean causation but we are tempted to think they do Experiments do mean causation but interpretation not always easy Context in social situations!
Thanks for listening Good luck on the exam Have a good summer