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Project Summary
| Difficulty | 4 |
| Time required | Average (about one week) |
| Prerequisites | None |
| Material Availability | Readily available |
| Cost | Very Low (under $20) |
| Safety | Adult supervision is recommended when collecting your data. |
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| * Note: This is an abbreviated project idea, without notes to start your background research or a procedure for how to do the experiment. You can identify abbreviated project ideas by the asterisk at the end of the title. If you want a project idea with full instructions, please pick one without an asterisk. |
Abstract
You've probably observed from your own personal experiences that some actions are contagious. Yawning is a great example. When one person in a room yawns, several other people usually do, too. Coughing, clearing your throat, these are other actions that often seem contagious. But what about smiling? Have you ever walked down the street and had a random stranger smile at you? Did it make you happy? Did you smile back? In this science fair project, you'll investigate whether smiling is contagious. You'll need to think of a way to design your experiment. One option would be to take a walk around a park and keep track of how many people smile at you, and whether those numbers change based on whether you smile at them or not. Or maybe you want to see if smiling has a chain reaction by having a friend walk a little ways behind you and see if the number of smiles he or she receives changes depending on whether you smile at the passersby first. However you design your experiment, make sure you're observing many people so that you can draw accurate conclusions. The Science Buddies guide Sample Size: How Many Survey Participants Do I Need? will help you determine how many observations you need to make. So put on a smile, because science is fun!Variations
- For more science project ideas in this area of science, see Human Behavior Project Ideas.
Last edit date: 2008-10-27 22:00:00
Career Focus
If you like this project, you might want to think about career opportunities in
Human Behavior.
Why people take certain actions can often feel like a mystery. Psychologists help solve these mysteries by investigating the physical, cognitive, emotional, or social aspects of human behavior and the human mind. Some psychologists also apply these findings in order to design better products or to help people change their behaviors. Learn more about this career: Psychologist.
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