Social Experiment Design

Equipped with new ideas and some new knowledge regarding the sensory and perception process, the students practiced planning, designing, and conducting experiments. The goals were to further explore and see if they could influence or affect people’s perception, and later if they could influence or change how people behaved. At the same time, the students practiced the process involved in experiment design, including identifying a question, literature review, formulation of a hypothesis, setting variables and subject groups, planning the experiment procedures, and of course later the academic research reporting steps of data collection, analysis, discussion, and conclusion.

As a preliminary experiment in the perception process, we conducted a simple test which involved many of our neighbors and friends. Volunteers were asked to participate in a taste test to see if they could properly identify three commonly consumed carbonated drinks. One group of respondents gave answers under the circumstance of a blind taste-test. What we found was that even though people may have stated brand preferences, their ability to actually identify and differentiate between certain products is not as high as they may think.

A second run of this experiment allowed respondents to see what they were drinking, but included one drink which had been altered with non-flavored food coloring. This version of the taste test provided even more interesting results, showing us that disrupting even one factor in the organization step of the perception process was enough to completely impede normal perception.

Controlling perception is at least half the work of influencing behavior. The students tested changing simple sensory input variables to see what the effect on perception might be, and attempted to extrapolate useful techniques and strategies that could possibly be utilized for design in other areas.

Each student discusses a topic or phenomenon they are interested in that is related to perception. The background and impetus of their research project is explained, and the students propose hypotheses about what they might be able to do to influence others' perceptions regarding their topic. The methods for testing these hypotheses are also put forward.

• Steve Wang
• Zoey Lin
• Yiler Huang
• Yuna Wu

Each students' academic report and discussion regarding their experiment of attempts to influence perception.

• Steve Wang
• Zoey Lin
• Yiler Huang
• Yuna Wu

Sometimes, a simple model, prompt, or psychological nudge is all that is needed for us to cause someone to change their behavior in a certain way. Based on what they learned about the sensory and perception process, the students attempted to create situations and stimuli that would cause people to perform a certain action.

The students explain their reasons for wanting to use a certain sensory input in an attempt to influence others' behavior, and why they believe that this particular sensory input may be an effective vehicle for this sort of influence.

• Steve Wang
• Zoey Lin
• Yiler Huang
• Yuna Wu

A full academic report regarding the results of each students' experiment to influence behavior.

• Steve Wang
• Zoey Lin
• Yiler Huang
• Yuna Wu