Well, lemme tell ya, these college kids, they’re doin’ all sorts of things these days. I heard tell there’s this psychology class, a real high-up one, mind you, not like the ones where they just teach ya how to be nice to folks.
This class, they’re doin’ some kinda experiment. Sounds fancy, but it’s all about how folks judge other folks just by lookin’ at their faces, ya know? Like, do they like this face or that face? But here’s the kicker, they ain’t tellin’ the whole truth. They’re sayin’ it’s about how age makes ya look, whether you get prettier or uglier as ya get older, but it ain’t really about that at all. It’s about somethin’ called “racial prejudice.” Don’t ask me what that means exactly, sounds like somethin’ them city folks made up.
So, they got these pictures, lots and lots of ‘em. Faces of all sorts, I reckon. And they’re showin’ ‘em to these young’uns, the ones takin’ part in the experiment. And they gotta say how much they like each face, whether they think the person in the picture is a good person or not, just by lookin’ at their face. Seems kinda silly to me, judgin’ a book by its cover, as they say. But them college folks, they think they’re learnin’ somethin’ important.
Now, this psychology stuff, it’s a whole different world, ain’t it? They study all sorts of things. Like how ya remember things, or how babies grow up, or what happens in your head when you’re thinkin’ or sleepin’. They even study why some folks act all crazy-like, got them “psychological disorders,” they call ‘em. Makes ya wonder if they can fix my bad knee while they’re at it.
But listen here, there’s some things even them smarty-pants college folks can’t do. They can’t go around hurtin’ people just to learn somethin’. Like, they can’t make ya drink poison to see what happens, or make ya stand in the sun all day without water. That’s just plain wrong, and even them college kids know that. And they can’t go around lyin’ to ya all the time neither, ‘cept in this face experiment, I guess. Seems like there’s rules, even for them.
- They can’t do experiments that are too dangerous.
- They can’t trick ya too much, gotta be mostly honest.
- They gotta treat everyone fair and square, no matter who they are.
These young’uns takin’ part in the experiment, they’re called “participants.” Fancy word for folks who are gettin’ poked and prodded and asked all sorts of questions, if ya ask me. But I guess they volunteered for it, so it’s alright. They’re part of the learnin’ process, ya see. Just like how I learned how to bake a good apple pie from my grandma, only they’re learnin’ about how people think and feel and judge each other.
It’s a strange world, this college learnin’. But I reckon they gotta do somethin’ with all that book learnin’. Maybe they’ll figure out why some folks are just plain mean, and maybe they’ll figure out how to make the world a little bit better. Or maybe they’ll just end up confused, like the rest of us. Who knows? But as long as they ain’t hurtin’ nobody, I guess it’s alright. Just gotta make sure they don’t start thinkin’ they’re smarter than everyone else just ‘cause they went to college.
Anyways, that’s the gist of it. This high-up psychology class, doin’ their face experiment, thinkin’ they’re learnin’ somethin’ about how folks judge each other. Seems like a lot of fuss over nothin’ to me, but what do I know? I’m just an old woman who knows how to bake a good apple pie.
Tags：[psychology, experiment, racial prejudice, faces, likeability, ethics, participants, college, research, aging]
