BBC - Exposed (2005)

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What makes us do the things we do? This snappy new series reveals the secrets behind our behaviour. It´s perplexed philosophers and scientists for centuries, but *Exposed* hopes to unravel what it
means to be human. Presented by Dr John Marsden, one of the most down to earth psychologists you will ever meet, the four programmes tackle the biological and psychological background to the way we think, feel and behave. If we know more about how and why we behave in the way we do, perhaps we may even be able to live happier, more fulfilled lives.

The series is packed with impressive snippets of must-tell-your-friends information, and includes amazing insights into what makes us tick. Each programme looks at how we survive with certain kinds of people, situations and environments: Liars , Heartbreak , Persuaders , and City Life.


Part 1: Liars

It´s been estimated that there are 111 different types of lie. Or did someone just make that up?

Some good, some bad, and a few just plain evil. Individually, we each tell as many as 15 porkies a week (is that all?),and are on the receiving end of even more. And yet despite the fact lying is everywhere, few other human traits are so little understood.
Exposed attempts to unravel some of the mysteries surrounding this most powerful and seemingly instinctive human trait.

In exploring just why it is we tell lies, John Marsden meets Donald Bickerstaff, a man who lied himself into a $15m fortune, and finds out from his victims just what it?s like to have your life turned upside down by someone
unable to feel guilt.

In learning how we can protect ourselves against the dangers of deceit, John also meets Beth Shannon, a with the ability to spot over 90% of lies, and discovers precisely how to beat that most famous of lie detectors
- the polygraph.

And, in attempting to discover whether liars are born or made, it turns out that the secret lies within a portion of our brain no bigger than an almond. Straight up.






Part 2: Heartbreak
We´ve all been there. It can cut like a knife, tear our lives apart, even make us kill?

In this episode, *Exposed* investigates the devastating effect that social and romantic rejection can have on our brains, our bodies and our behaviour.

Using the latest neuro-imaging technology, we explore the links between social rejection and physical pain.

Why does rejection lead to crimes of passion and revenge? How do early childhood experiences of rejection affect our ability to form secure relationships as adults? And do men and women respond differently to a broken heart?

Lovesick James is struggling to come to terms with the end of a ten year relationship. We often use the same words to describe heartbreak as we do for physical pain. Step forward Dr Marsden, as he undergoes torture to find out just how similar physical and emotional pain really are.

After a couple of bad break ups, singleton Claire has given up on relationships altogether. But do we really need other people anyway? We conduct a unique experiment in human isolation with surprising results…





Part 3: Persuaders
Parents, advertising, friends and politicians… Persuaders and Persuasion are all around us. But how do the great persuaders tempt us to part with our hard earned cash, behave in a certain way, even feel the way we do?

Why do we allow ourselves to be manipulated, and how can we make people do what we want them to do?

In this episode, we find out how some of the most pervasive persuaders, including salesmen, advertisers, shop owners and composers, manage to get what they want.

We meet great persuaders, such as the hypnotist who can pull teeth without anaesthetic. John also finds out from an ex-cult member about how persuasion can be used in extremely negative ways.

Through a broad range of social experiments, John reveals some of the most popular persuasive techniques in use today from the blatant, to the downright devious.






Part 4: City Life
What is it that can make a simple journey to work so stressful? Do city dwellers behave differently to their rural counterparts? Has the urbanite struggle to cope with the pressures of city life made them behave like animals?
Is this why thousands are now abandoning cities in search of stress-free lives in the country?

To answer these questions, Dr Marsden reveals the strange rules of Urban Etiquette.

Through experiments on unwitting subjects he tests whether sensory overload and urban anonymity really make us irresponsible, confused and violent.

Seizing the bull by the horns, (metaphorically speaking, he´s not in the countryside after all), John joins a police riot-control simulation to measure his own stress levels. How does he compare to a long-suffering urban commuter?

He also meets a real victim of street violence, and explores how the human brain detects crucial signs of vulnerability simply from the way people move.

Will our victim’s body language betray his fear to a panel of hard-men,and can the tell-tale signals be disguised after a session of ‘target-hardening’ training?

Finally, John introduces us to two couples living their own urban and rural dreams. Pulling their lifestyles apart, he compares the effects of their environment on their behaviour, before reaching his own conclusion about the value of urban life.