The Psychological Game

In the April 24th issue of Sports Illustrated, an article profiling new Colorado Buffaloes football coach Dan Hawkins discusses his unusual approach to coaching, including his use of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to improve player performance:

"Given the slightest opening, Hawkins will expound on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. For [junior quarterback Bernard] Jackson, one of those needs — the need to feel safe, physically and psychologically — was not being met. After spending time with him, says Hawkins, "I got this vibe that his spirit was broken, that he was in a cage. And I just told him, 'I want you to break out, play your style, use your talents and don't worry.'" Thus unburdened, Jackson had a strong spring and will challenge fellow junior Brian White for the starting job in August."

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This is [insert product name here]

A CNN article discusses how the celebrity chosen to push a product matters. A good example of the importance of the source in persuasion. Interesting how the voice of CNN, James Earl Jones, is one of the "good" celebrities to shill for you. Coincidence?

Hey, I’m Here!

Alrighty. So I've finally gotten around to starting a psychology blog, and I'm very proud of that. I hope that the content will be interesting enough to keep me proud.

Hi, I'm Mandy. I'm a grad student in social psychology at Rutgers University. I'm finishing up my third year here. I teach intro psychology and one of the things I really wanted to impress upon my students was that psychology is all around us. We see examples of various principles in all forms of media, whether it's TV, websites, songs, movies, whatever. Psychology isn't limited to a classroom or laboratory. I hope this blog will serve as a source for the examples of psychology that abound in everyday life. And I hope that you enjoy it.