Aronson begins the book by citing a number of scenarios , real and constructed &mdash; reactions to the Kent State shootings , the Stanford prison experiments , and a four-year-old boy given a drum set among them &mdash; that illustrate a variety of human behaviors seen in real life . The rest of the book is spent primarily on explaining how human minds operate and interact with each other , using these situations as examples . The book covering topics include the causes of prejudice , aggression , and cognitive dissonance
Kent State shootings
Kent State shootings
The Social Animal (Aronson book)