Click on the following links. Please note these will open in a new window.

Video Links

Video 1: Dan Ariely: Predictably Irrational

Description: Dan Ariely, a professor of behavioral economics at Duke University, presents examples of cognitive illusions that help illustrate why humans make predictably irrational decisions. Ariely is the author of the book Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions.

Video 2: The Power of Body Language

Description: A 4-minute video by the author of “The Power of Body Language” introduces a body language perspective to help students consider body language as one aspect of self-awareness.

Video 3: Free Will and the Brain

Description: Video by British gerontologist, author and cultural critic Raymond Tallis, on questions regarding free will and the brain. Discussion focuses on the range of individual responsibility for behavior.

Video 4: Philip Zimbardo: Time Perspective

Description: Philip Zimbardo discusses how our level of happiness is impacted by our time perspective. In this TED talk, Zimbardo notes that we can improve our lives by changing our outlook on time.

Web Links

Web 1: Human Behavior—Science Odyssey Then and Now

Description: This is a link to the PBS site that links to videos, activities, and databank entries about the predominant theories of human behavior from a historical perspective. This site begins with information about the 19th-century view “that female patients with odd behaviors were suffering from hysteria” to the current understanding of human behavior as the complex interplay between biology and our environment.