blog post #2

Research can help better explain different things about ourselves and of the things around us. Research leads to finding new theories and hypotheses. Thus involving the scientific method.
The article I read was, "Why do we do dumb or irrational Things. 10 Brilliant Social Psychology Studies" I read the tenth study on " I can't believe my eyes: conforming to the norm." When faced with a decision in a group we fear disapproval from the others in the group that we agree with the majority rather than sticking by our gut and standing out from the rest. We conform to the group despite the evidence before our very eyes. Even when we are in groups for a class we find ourselves agreeing with everyone else the majority of the time, just to blend in and agree with everyone else.
This week I learned that psychology is definitely not value-free. Our own values affect how we study, what we study and how we look at the results to get our conclusion. I also learned that cultures matter in shaping our behaviors. We need to be more aware of how culture affects us since the growing mixture and clashing of different cultures is so great. Also the placebo effect actually does work. If you think you will get better and have a more positive outlook on life it will help the healing process. If you think your life is over and you have no help, the out come will not be as gratifying.