I find Netflix' recommendations for movies you might like, based on your previous choices of movies you've rented, a very interesting - but also kind of scary - idea, especially from the standpoint of social psychology. And other DVD businesses such as Blockbuster have similar techniques to recommend further movies based on your interests.
In social psychology (you can take a course in it online at Granite State College!), we examine what influences people to make the choices they make. Just think of all the things involved in your feelings about whether Netflix might be making good recommendations for you:
1. You chose to enroll in Netflix.
2. You're paying to use it.
3. They make an effort to appeal to you with user-friendly statements like this:
I have more questions about watching instantly on my PC. Where can I get answers?
So you end up feeling as though they really want to help you and somehow "know" you. And you know what? You're right about them knowing you! They do know you.
But they're not really your "friend," of course. (That can be the subject of another blog...whether "friends" on Facebook really are, well, friends.) They're basing their information on carefully calibrated software that tracks your choices.
Lots of people are getting leery about having software seem to know them. Once you take a course in social psychology (and you can do it entirely online. Here's a link to Granite State College's behavioral science courses: http://www.granite.edu/academics/degrees/bachelor-degrees/behavioral-sciences.aspx), you may be surprised at how much more you feel YOU know about what people are thinking, what you can know about other people, and even what advertising uses to influence your choices, from selecting DVDs to buying cell phones!
There are plenty of "Psychology Courses You'll
" at Granite State College.
In social psychology (you can take a course in it online at Granite State College!), we examine what influences people to make the choices they make. Just think of all the things involved in your feelings about whether Netflix might be making good recommendations for you:
1. You chose to enroll in Netflix.
2. You're paying to use it.
3. They make an effort to appeal to you with user-friendly statements like this:
I have more questions about watching instantly on my PC. Where can I get answers?
So you end up feeling as though they really want to help you and somehow "know" you. And you know what? You're right about them knowing you! They do know you.
But they're not really your "friend," of course. (That can be the subject of another blog...whether "friends" on Facebook really are, well, friends.) They're basing their information on carefully calibrated software that tracks your choices.
Lots of people are getting leery about having software seem to know them. Once you take a course in social psychology (and you can do it entirely online. Here's a link to Granite State College's behavioral science courses: http://www.granite.edu/academics/degrees/bachelor-degrees/behavioral-sciences.aspx), you may be surprised at how much more you feel YOU know about what people are thinking, what you can know about other people, and even what advertising uses to influence your choices, from selecting DVDs to buying cell phones!
There are plenty of "Psychology Courses You'll
" at Granite State College.
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