Students Psyched About Experiment

Ocean View High School students became unwitting subjects of an unusual psychology experiment Friday.

About 25 psychology students wearing all-black clothing and holding clipboards stood in the central area of the school and collected data on how passers-by reacted to their silent presence.

The students stood shoulder to shoulder on a platform overlooking the school’s indoor commons and recorded students’ and teachers’ physical and emotional reactions.

The half-hour exercise was meant to show the psychology students how to conduct a field experiment and teach them how to interpret data, said teacher Greg Whitman.

But the students also got a lesson in human nature. Although most students blushed and hurried past, or asked the tabulators what they were doing, a few others were spooked.

“I figured people would show off to get attention,” said Jullian Cassianis, 17, of Huntington Beach. “But a lot of people got pretty upset, almost angry. It was weird, because we see them every day and they know us. I think it was because we were in a group and had the clipboards.”

Ann Monreal, 17, of Huntington Beach agreed that their uniform appearance had an impact on people.

“If someone was walking behind us, we’d all turn around and make them feel very uncomfortable,” said Monreal. “We tried not to laugh, but it was hard.”

Although the students have enough data to keep them busy for now, Ocean View students should be on the lookout for future tests. The class is already formulating its next experiment, which could involve leaving an open wallet in plain sight or gluing quarters to the ground.

“The way we got to put people on the spot was really fun and funny,” Cassianis said. “And Mr. Whitman got a kick out of it too.”