Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, And Behave

THE PENGUIN PRESS Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA USA • Canada • UK • Ireland • Australia • New Zealand • India • South Africa • China Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England For more information about the Penguin Group visit penguin.com Copyright © Adam Alter, 2013 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions. The credits for the illustrations on pages 31, 110, 114, and 130 respectively appear in the notes section. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Alter, Adam L., 1980Drunk tank pink : and other unexpected forces that shape how we think, feel, and behave / Adam Alter. pages cm Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-101-60578-3 1. Psychology, Applied. 2. Environmental psychology. I. Title. BF636.A48 2012 155.9--dc23 2012046810 For Mum, Dad, Dean, and Sara CONTENTS Title Page Copyright Dedication Prologue Part One THE WORLD WITHIN US 1. Names 2. Labels 3. Symbols Part Two THE WORLD BETWEEN US 4. The Mere Presence of Other People 5. The Characteristics of Other People 6. Culture Part Three THE WORLD AROUND US 7. Colors 8. Locations 9. Weather and Warmth Epilogue Acknowledgments Notes Index PROLOGUE The academic journal Orthomolecular Psychiatry began its final issue of 1979 with a classic paper that kindled the imaginations of prison wardens, football coaches, and exasperated parents. The paper’s author, Professor Alexander Schauss, described a simple experiment featuring 153 healthy young men, a researcher, two large pieces of colored cardboard, and a well-lit lab room. One by one the men filed into the room to participate in an unusual test of strength. The experiment began when the men stared at one of the pieces of cardboard. For half the men the cardboard was deep blue in color, while for the remaining half it was bright pink. After a full minute passed, the researcher asked the men to raise their arms in front of their bodies, while he applied just enough downward pressure to force their arms back down to their sides. While the men recovered their strength, the researcher jotted a few brief notes before repeating the experiment, first asking the men to stare at the other piece of cardboard and then repeating the strength test. The results were strikingly consistent. All but two of the men were dramatically weaker after staring at the pink cardboard, barely resisting the researcher’s application of downward force. In contrast, the blue cardboard left their strength intact, regardless of whether it came before the first or second strength test. The color pink appeared to leave the men temporarily depleted. To prove the effect wasn’t a fluke, Schauss conducted a second experiment. This time he used a more accurate measure of strength, asking the thirty-eight male participants to squeeze a measurement device known as a dynamometer. Without fail, one after another, all thirty-eight men squeezed the device more weakly after staring at the pink cardboard. Schauss began describing the miraculous tranquilizing power of bright pink in public lectures across the United States. At one appearance, filmed for TV, a muscle-bound Mr. California performed several effortless biceps curls but struggled to perform a single curl after staring at the pink cardboard. Given the color’s power, Schauss suggested that corrections officers should consider detaining rowdy