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Human Behavior Science Fair Project

The Power of Suggestion Between People

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The Power of Suggestion Between People | Science Fair Projects | STEM Projects
You have probably noticed that when someone near you yawns, you feel the urge to yawn too. This is called the power of suggestion. But does it work the same way for other actions? You hold a short conversation with each volunteer. During the talk, you scratch your arm and cough. You also sniffle and yawn. You keep a mental count of which actions the other person copies. After testing equal groups of males and females, you compare who reacted more often. Nearly every person copies at least one action.

Hypothesis

The hypothesis is that a person's suggestions will have an effect on the majority of the subjects' reactions, and that females will be affected most by these suggestions.

Method & Materials

You will need an experimenter and 40 subjects (20 males; 20 females). The experimenter will have a conversation with each subject and do certain actions like scratching their arm, coughing, sniffling, and yawning. The experimenter will keep track of the subject's reactions.
You will need an experimenter, 40 subjects, and a data table to record the reactions.

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Results

The results of the experiment showed that out of a total of 80 actions by the experimenter, males reacted 27 times and females reacted 24 times. This proved that males reacted more than females, though only slightly.

Why do this project?

This science project is interesting because it shows how people can be affected by another's behaviour, even if it is only slightly.

Also Consider

Experiment variations to consider include changing the number of subjects, the length of the conversation, or the type of actions the experimenter does.

Full project details

Additional information and source material for this project are available below.
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