For information on Quirkology, including interactive experiments and videos, visit the project website here.

‘Quirkology’ is a term coined by Prof Richard Wiseman to refer to psychological research that is quirky. Much of this work uses mainstream methods to investigate unusual topics, or unusual methods to investigate mainstream topics.

The maverick Victorian scientist Sir Francis Galton might be considered the founding father of the discipline, and devoted much of his life to the study of offbeat topics, including, for example, work into prayer, boredom, and beauty. Each generation of psychologists has produced a small number of researchers who have carried out quirkological research. Academics who have, for instance: examined how many people it takes to start a Mexican wave in a football stadium; examined the psychology of smiling by applying voltages to the face (see pic); identified the perceived personality characteristics of fruit; secretly counted the number of people wearing their baseball caps the right way round or back to front; and stood outside supermarkets with charity boxes quietly measuring how different types of requests for donations impacted upon the amount of money given. Much of the work has revealed impressive insights into the secret psychology behind many aspects of everyday life, including group behaviour, compliance, anthropomorphism, and altruism.

Prof Wiseman’s own work in the area has tackled a diverse range of issues, from humour to honesty, superstition to smiling, and chronobiology to charisma. Much of this research is described in his latest book, Quirkology.