University team examines tactics of star names in the Psychology Of... The Celebrity Traitors

Dr Kevin Hochard, Dr Clea Wright, and Professor Lisa Oakley have returned to the podcast studio to share their expertise on human behaviour as they discuss the Psychology Of...Celebrity Traitors.

The new 30-minute episode, running alongside the BBC One series of the TV phenomenon with a celebrity twist, is available now on Spotify, and goes into episodes three and four. The Psychology team will continue to react to developments throughout the rest of the gripping series.

The all-star cast – including Comedian Alan Carr, Actor Celia Imrie and Singer-Songwriter Cat Burns – is playing the ultimate game of detection, deception and trust, in the hope of winning a cash prize of up to £100,000 for a charity of their choice.

In the Psychology Of... Celebrity Traitors podcast episode released this week, Kevin, Clea and Lisa give their psychological take on:

• The celebrity murders and banishments from episodes three and four, and the contestants’ reactions to them 

• How an unexpected moment of a ‘national treasure’ breaking wind breaks the social norm 

• How some tasks have challenged contestants and others have tailored to different celebrities’ strengths, promoting them to leadership responsibilities 

• ‘Big dog’ Jonathan Ross manipulating the faithfuls and “being a good liar” 

• How Alan Carr has evaded suspicion 

• How name-dropping is proving to be an effective tactic by the traitors

Kevin said: “The Traitors has become a must-see hit show, growing in popularity with each series, and placing a captivating magnifying glass on human behaviour. 

“Our podcast offers psychological reasons as to why the contestants behave in the ways they do, and this series’ switch with a celebrity cast adds a fascinating new dynamic which is already creating big differences in the game. 

“We’ve been delighted to follow the show’s developments so far and we’ll be providing our perspectives as the show builds up to its grand finale.”

The Psychology team has also had the opportunity to discuss The Traitors on the Everything’s Psychology YouTube channel, which can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIaKq-jWmhk.

To tune into the Psychology team's latest podcasts, visit: https://open.spotify.com/episode/61Mo0btg3Vrl90OgJiEhhg.