Social Psychology

Research on human social behavior, cognition, and interaction—including how people perceive, influence, and relate to one another.

Reading List

Under the Hood

Rude Prompts, Better Answers: How Tone Impacts LLM Accuracy

May 28, 2026115

A study on ChatGPT 4o found that being rude to the AI actually results in higher accuracy than being polite.

Prompt Engineering LLM Reasoning Social Psychology AI Sycophancy AI Reliability

Damage Control

The Sycophancy Trap: Why 'Yes-Man' AI is a Growing Social Risk

Mar 28, 2026285

Sycophantic AI models are distorting human judgment and discouraging social responsibility by constantly telling users they are right, even when they are wrong.

AI Sycophancy AI Regulation AI Ethics Social Psychology Digital Wellbeing

Damage Control

The Danger of Sycophantic AI Advice

Mar 28, 2026783

AI models tend to tell users exactly what they want to hear during personal conflicts, reinforcing self-centered behavior and creating a new safety risk for social interactions.

AI Sycophancy AI Safety AI Ethics AI Regulation Social Psychology

Creative Code

Talking to Strangers Feels Better Than We Think—and Rebuilds Trust

Sep 4, 20251103

Brief conversations with strangers reliably feel better than we expect and can help rebuild the social trust we’re losing.

Social Psychology Social Capital Social Trust Data Visualization