Podcast explores the Psychology of The Traitors 

From the power of first impressions through to the psychology of lying, a new weekly podcast from academics at the University of Chester is unpicking the actions of the contestants in The Traitors. 

The hit BBC 1 show presented by Claudia Winkleman has proved there is nothing audiences like watching more than human behaviour and the University’s Psychology team is putting its skills to the test to explain why people act the way they do. 

The podcast, called Psychology of….. The Traitors, features Dr Clea Wright, Professor Lisa Oakley and Dr Kevin Hochard who each week discuss three episodes of the latest action in the Scottish castle. A new 30-minute episode will be uploaded to Spotify every Wednesday. 

Clea recently shared her expertise on how to lie to friends and manipulate people for a feature on The Traitors in Cosmopolitan magazine.

Topics discussed by the three experts include the psychology of influence and how the contestants who are liked and trusted by most of the group, such as the Traitor Paul who was voted ‘most popular’ by his fellow contestants, can move between different groups and affect the thought processes of others. 

They also look at how the “overconfident” behaviour of players who declare they are “good at reading people” and “100 per cent” sure who is a Faithful or Traitor can often be their downfall as their confidence leads them to making the wrong decision. 

The round table banishments also come under discussion with how subtle non-verbal communication has influenced the decision-making process. ‘Herd mentality’ and how if a name raised at banishment is agreed with by another contestant can cause a domino effect of nominations is also discussed. 

Dr Clea Wright said: “So many people across the country have been gripped by the games played in The Traitors and as psychologists it is a fascinating demonstration of human behaviour. 

“We hope fans of the show as well as those interested in Psychology will listen to our podcast and understand a little more about why the contestants behave the way they do.” 

To listen to the podcast visit here.  

Caption: Dr Kevin Hochard; Professor Lisa Oakley and Dr Clea Wright.