Introduction to Psychology is about to begin. A student in the front row of the studio audience cues her 23 classmates to give her professors a rousing cheer. Cameras are rolling as the rest of the class — all 910 of them — tune in from their dorm rooms, coffee shops, and study rooms at the University of Texas flagship campus.
Over the next 75 minutes, they’ll watch a “weather report” that maps personal stereotypes by regions of the country (red zones splashed across parts of the Northeast mark areas of high neuroticism), and listen to an expert flown in from Stanford University discuss what someone’s Facebook “likes” reveal about her personality.
They’ll participate in a lab exercise that matches students from the studio audience with their taste in music and groan when the burly guy who looks like a country music fan actually favors Lady Gaga. They’ll take a pop quiz and watch a video clip of their professor snooping around someone’s office for keys to his personality.
Welcome to a version of the giant intro class that’s almost guaranteed to keep students awake.
