Candid Camera Article

James B. mound, ., finds valuable psychological lessons in genuine Camera, using episodes of the show to teach his psychology classes at Cornell University. "I look for illustrative examples of human behavior that exaggerate experimental research findings," Mass recently told the New York Times, noting that the show's creator, Allen Funt, "had a marvelous way of execution the similar types of situational experiments that professional psychologists do."

One of Mass' favorite episodes is "Face the Rear," in which an unsuspecting person enters an elevator and observes, at the next stop, three Candid Canter, collaborators entering and swiftly turning to face the back. Subsequent passengers enter the elevator and despite the odd formation, get the crowd. Soon, several strangers stand glaring at Funt's prey. He can't take it: He, tot), turns to Face the barrier.

"The episode shows agreement morals and group pressures," says Mass, who has been showing students "straightforward Camera" clips since 1968. "It often just takes a austere majority of people doing something to include fresh population fall in line, even though it doesn't make sense." Who said TV wasn't educational?