External links
- "Social Psychology" at NBC.com
- "Social Psychology" at IMDb
| "Social Psychology" | |
|---|---|
| Community episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 4 |
| Directed by | Anthony Russo |
| Written by | Liz Cackowski |
| Production code | 104 |
| Original air date | October 8, 2009 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"Social Psychology" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community . It aired in the United States on NBC on October 8, 2009. The episode shows Jeff bonding with Shirley through mockery of Britta's new romantic interest, Vaughn. Annie gets Abed to participate in a psychology experiment organized by Dr Ian Duncan. It received 4.87 million viewers in the United States and mixed critical reviews.
Jeff (Joel McHale) has been making excuses to avoid walking with Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) to a class they have in the same section of campus. As Britta (Gillian Jacobs) begins spending time with a laid-back hippie, Vaughn (Eric Christian Olsen), Jeff becomes jealous. He begins to bond with Shirley over mocking Vaughn. Britta shows him a poem Vaughn wrote about her, perturbed by it, and Jeff surreptitiously takes a photo of it to share with Shirley.
Pierce (Chevy Chase) overhears Jeff and Shirley mocking Vaughn's poem with his new "ear-noculars" that improve his hearing. He tries to confront them in front of the group and they share Vaughn's poem; as they do so, Vaughn and Britta arrive and Vaughn, seeing the poem, breaks up with Britta. Shirley apologizes to Jeff, saying that she has had issues caused by her frequent gossiping in the past. The two agree not to gossip further – with the exception of Shirley telling him that Britta had a sex dream about him. Jeff attempts to reconcile with Britta, who reluctantly forgives him.
Meanwhile, Annie (Alison Brie) begs Duncan (John Oliver) to be an observer in his psychology experiment. She gets Troy (Donald Glover) and Abed (Danny Pudi) to be participants, Abed, cancelling his plans to watch Indiana Jones movies after Annie invokes friendship as a reason for him to help her. The experiment consists of the participants in a waiting room being repeatedly told that the experiment will begin shortly. Señor Chang (Ken Jeong) immediately throws a tantrum and leaves upon being first told this, but the other participants last longer. Finally, Troy has a breakdown and leaves, so that only Abed remains. After 26 hours, Abed is still waiting, the observers now extremely frustrated and one exasperatedly leaves. Duncan has a tantrum, blaming Annie for inviting Abed, and the experiment ends.
Annie explains the experiment to Troy and Abed and, frustrated at Abed, asks him why he stayed so long. Abed replies that he was furious, but stayed because Annie called him a friend. Annie later apologizes, buying him DVDs of the Indiana Jones movies as an apology.
In the end tag, Troy and Abed mock people they can see through the window of their study room, thinking the window was sound proof. Mimicking Jeff as he walks by, Jeff replies that he can hear them through the window. The pair then pretend to be asleep.
The episode marks the first appearance of the recurring character Vaughn. [1] Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club wrote that Abed and Jeff serve to evoke more emotionally honest reactions from other characters: in this episode, Abed leads Annie to release her pent-up frustration, while Jeff brings out Shirley's tendency towards mockery. Both Annie and Shirley had received less screentime in previous episodes than the rest of the main cast. [2] Danny Pham of Screen Rant commented that Abed's actions in the episode show his "fierce loyalty". [3]
Upon its first broadcast in the United States, an estimated 4.87 million viewers watched the episode. [4]
VanDerWerff rated the episode a B+, praising the show for continuing to pair up different members of the main cast in its storylines. She positively reviewed Olsen's acting and the humor of the episode, finding many moments comedic due to context or the acting. [2] However, Jonah Krakow of IGN gave the episode six out of ten in a negative review. Krakow criticized that there was a lack of humor, Shirley's character was becoming one-dimensional and Abed was poorly used in a storyline in which he had little dialogue. [5] Entertainment Weekly 's John Young did not enjoy the storyline with Vaughn, but praised the "budding friendship between Jeff and Shirley" and the "endearing" role of Duncan. [6]
"Spanish 101" is the second episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community. It aired in the United States on NBC on September 24, 2009. The episode features Jeff and Pierce working on a Spanish project as Annie and Shirley organize a protest. Receiving 5.39 million viewers upon its premiere, the episode was met with mostly positive critical reception. The end tag—the first of the series—shows Troy and Abed performing a nonsense rap in Spanish, an early interaction between the pair which was praised by reviewers.
"The Art of Discourse" is the twenty-second episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community. It aired in the United States on NBC on April 29, 2010.
"Advanced Criminal Law" is the fifth episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community. It aired in the United States on NBC on October 15, 2009. The episode follows Jeff attempting to help Britta after she confesses to cheating on a Spanish test, as Pierce helps Annie by composing a school song and Abed attempts to convince Troy that he is an alien. It garnered 5.01 million viewers in its first broadcast and was met with mixed critical reception.
"Football, Feminism and You" is the sixth episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community. It aired in the United States on NBC on October 22, 2009. The episode centers on Troy and his career playing football at Greendale Community College, while the B storyline concerns Britta and her difficulty befriending other women. Pierce works with Dean Pelton to create the school's mascot. The episode was watched by 5.18 million viewers upon its premiere and received polarized reviews.
"Home Economics" is the eighth episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community. It aired in the United States on NBC on November 5, 2009. The episode revolves around Jeff's living situation now that he no longer has the money he earned as a big-shot lawyer and the emotional aftermath of Britta and Vaughn's breakup. It garnered 5.45 million viewers on its premiere and received positive critical reception.
"Debate 109" is the ninth episode of the first season of Community. It originally aired in the United States on NBC on November 12, 2009. In the episode, Jeff teams up with Annie to take on City College in a debate, while Pierce tries to help Britta quit smoking using hypnotherapy. Meanwhile, the study group attempts to figure out if Abed's student films are predicting their futures. The episode received mostly positive reviews, with many critics singling out Abed's subplot for praise.
"The Politics of Human Sexuality" is the eleventh episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community. It originally aired in the United States on NBC on December 3, 2009.
"Romantic Expressionism" is the fifteenth episode of the first season of the U.S. television series Community. It was originally aired on February 4, 2010, on NBC.
"Communication Studies" is the sixteenth episode of the first season of the U.S. television sitcom Community. It originally aired on February 11, 2010, on NBC.
"The Science of Illusion" is the twentieth episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community. It aired in the United States on NBC on March 25, 2010.
"Pascal's Triangle Revisited" is the twenty-fifth and final episode of the first season of Community. It originally aired in the United States on NBC on May 20, 2010. In the episode, the group gets ready to say goodbye for the summer at the end-of-year dance. Britta and Professor Slater compete over their affections for Jeff, while Annie considers leaving Greendale and Troy looks for a new place to live. The episode received generally positive reviews, with critics both praising and criticizing the final twist.
"The Psychology of Letting Go" is the third episode of the second season of Community. It was originally broadcast on October 7, 2010 on NBC.
"Aerodynamics of Gender" is the seventh episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Community, and the 32nd episode of the series overall. It aired in the United States on NBC on November 4, 2010. The two plotlines concern the women's discovery that Abed has an undiscovered talent at insulting people's appearance, and Troy and Jeff finding a secret garden with a trampoline.
"Early 21st Century Romanticism" is the fifteenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Community and the fortieth episode of the series overall. It aired in the United States on NBC on February 10, 2011. The episode revolves around the study group's various Valentine's Day plans: Abed and Troy ask the same girl to the dance, Britta goes on a date with a lesbian, and Jeff is tricked into hosting a party.
"Custody Law and Eastern European Diplomacy" is the eighteenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Community, and the 43rd episode of the series overall. It aired in the United States on NBC on March 17, 2011. The episode focuses on Shirley's pregnancy, while Abed and Troy make friends with a student from the Balkans.
"Studies in Modern Movement" is the seventh episode of the third season of the American sitcom Community. It was originally broadcast on November 10, 2011, on NBC.
"Foosball and Nocturnal Vigilantism" is the ninth episode of the third season of the U.S. television sitcom Community. It originally aired on December 1, 2011, on NBC.
"Urban Matrimony and the Sandwich Arts" is the eleventh episode of the third season of the American television series Community. It originally aired on March 15, 2012 on NBC, with the series returning after a three-month hiatus. In the episode, Shirley's ex-husband Andre whom she has reconciled with proposes to her again. While planning her wedding, she also considers a business proposition from Pierce. The rest of the study group help Shirley plan the wedding, while Troy and Abed attempt to suppress their weirdness and act normal at the rehearsal to no avail.
"Introduction to Statistics" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American comedy television series Community, airing on NBC on October 29, 2009. Annie hosts a Dia de los Muertos party, the success of which depends on Jeff attending. At the party, Pierce gets high, causing trouble for the other characters. Jeff pursues their statistics professor, Professor Michelle Slater. Finally, Shirley is distressed due to her ex-husband's behavior.
"Cooperative Escapism in Familial Relations" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of Community, which originally aired on March 7, 2013 on NBC. Set at Thanksgiving, the episode shows Jeff meeting his father for the first time while other members of the group attend Shirley's Thanksgiving dinner with her family, in a parody of The Shawshank Redemption. The former storyline received mixed critical reception, whilst the latter was mostly criticized. The episode was watched by an estimated 3.29 million viewers upon its premiere.
