social psychology studies + researcher

Gallup, 1970

Mirror self-recognition test. Showed that touching a mark on your own body while looking in a mirror can indicate basic self-awareness. Key words: mirror test, self-awareness, bodily self.

Johansson et al., 2005

Choice blindness study. Showed that people can explain choices they did not actually make, meaning introspection can be unreliable. Key words: choice blindness, introspection, self-knowledge.

Mead, 1934

The social self. Argued that the self develops through social interaction and society. Key words: social self, generalised other, society.

Heider, 1958

Naive psychology. People naturally try to explain behaviour using internal or external causes. Key words: attribution, internal, external.

Jones & Davis, 1965

Correspondent inference theory. We often infer someone’s personality from their behaviour. Key words: disposition, intention, personality.

Kelley, 1967

Covariation model. People use consistency, distinctiveness and consensus to decide whether behaviour is caused by the person or situation. Key words: consistency, distinctiveness, consensus.

Tomasello, 1999

Language as a cognitive tool. Language helps us think, plan, communicate and influence others. Key words: language, cognition, communication.

Markus & Nurius, 1986

Possible selves. People imagine who they could become in the future, including hoped-for and feared selves. Key words: possible selves, future self, identity.

Yee & Bailenson, 2007

Proteus Effect. The appearance of an avatar can influence a person’s behaviour. Key words: avatar, virtual self, behaviour.

Darwin, 1872

Evolutionary theory of emotion. Emotional expressions may have evolved and may be shared across humans and animals. Key words: evolution, expression, emotion.

Ekman & Friesen, 1969/1971

Universal facial expression studies. Found that people across cultures could recognise basic emotional expressions. Key words: basic emotions, universal, facial expression.

Cowen & Keltner, 2017

Emotion categories study. Suggested there may be more emotion categories than the basic six. Key words: emotion categories, expression, affect.

Festinger, 1954

Social comparison theory. People compare themselves with others to understand and evaluate themselves. Key words: comparison, self, evaluation.

Williams et al., 2000

Cyberball study. Showed that being excluded in a virtual ball game can reduce belonging and make people feel bad. Key words: exclusion, ostracism, belonging.

Eisenberger et al., 2003

Social rejection and pain study. Found that social rejection was linked to brain activity associated with physical pain. Key words: rejection, pain, exclusion.

Sternberg, 1986

Triangular theory of love. Love can involve intimacy, passion and commitment. Key words: intimacy, passion, commitment.

Sherif, 1936

Autokinetic effect study. Showed that group norms can form when people are in uncertain situations. Key words: norms, uncertainty, conformity.

Asch, 1951/1952

Conformity study. Showed that people may give an obviously wrong answer because the majority does. Key words: conformity, majority, normative influence.

Milgram, 1963

Obedience study. Showed that people may obey authority figures even when it conflicts with personal morals. Key words: obedience, authority, harm.

Freedman & Fraser, 1966

Foot-in-the-door technique. People are more likely to agree to a large request after first agreeing to a small request. Key words: compliance, small request, large request.

Cialdini et al., 1975

Door-in-the-face technique. People are more likely to agree to a smaller request after refusing a large request. Key words: compliance, concession, request.

Moscovici, 1969

Minority influence study. Showed that a consistent minority can influence the majority. Key words: minority influence, consistency, social influence.

Adorno et al., 1950

Authoritarian Personality Theory. Suggested some personality patterns may be linked to prejudice. Key words: authoritarian, prejudice, F-scale.

Altemeyer, 1981

Right-Wing Authoritarianism scale. Improved measurement of authoritarian attitudes linked to prejudice. Key words: RWA, authority, prejudice.

Pratto et al., 1994

Social Dominance Theory. Some people support group-based hierarchy and inequality. Key words: SDO, hierarchy, dominance.

Sherif, 1954

Robbers Cave study. Competition between groups increased conflict, but shared goals reduced conflict. Key words: realistic conflict, competition, superordinate goals.

Tajfel, 1978

Social Identity Theory. People get part of their identity from groups and may favour their ingroup. Key words: ingroup, outgroup, positive distinctiveness.

Allport, 1954

Contact Hypothesis. Contact between groups can reduce prejudice under the right conditions. Key words: contact, prejudice reduction, equal status.

Aronson, 1971

Jigsaw classroom. A classroom method where students rely on each other, helping reduce prejudice. Key words: cooperation, contact, classroom.

DeBruine, 2002

Self-resemblance study. People may trust or help faces that look similar to themselves. Key words: kin selection, resemblance, helping.

Batson et al., 1981

Electric shock helping study. Supported the idea that empathy can motivate people to help. Key words: empathy, altruism, helping.

Batson, 1991

Empathy-altruism hypothesis. People may help others because they feel empathy, not just for selfish reasons. Key words: empathy, altruism, prosocial behaviour.

Cialdini et al., 1987

Negative-state relief model. People may help others to reduce their own unpleasant feelings. Key words: mood, egoism, helping.

Krupp et al., 2008

Public goods/self-resemblance study. Tested whether resemblance affects cooperation and helping. Key words: cooperation, genes, helping.

Henrich, Heine & Norenzayan, 2010

WEIRD psychology. Much psychology research is based on Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich and Democratic samples. Key words: WEIRD, culture, generalisability.

Rad, Martingano & Ginges, 2018

Representativeness in psychology. Argued that psychology still relies too much on Western samples. Key words: WEIRD, sampling, representation.

Shweder, 1990

Cultural psychology. Culture and mind shape each other. Key words: culture, meaning, psychology.

Markus & Kitayama, 1991

Independent and interdependent self-construal. Some cultures emphasise independence while others emphasise connection. Key words: self-construal, independence, interdependence.

Jahoda, 2012

Definitions of culture. Reviewed different ways psychologists define culture. Key words: culture, internal, external.

Shweder, 1997

Big Three of morality. Morality can involve autonomy, community and divinity. Key words: autonomy, community, divinity.

Haidt, 2001

Social Intuitionist Model. Moral judgments often come from quick intuition first, with reasoning after. Key words: intuition, morality, reasoning.

Graham, Haidt & Nosek, 2009

Moral Foundations Theory and politics. Showed people may rely on different moral foundations. Key words: care, fairness, loyalty, authority, purity.

Skitka, Bauman & Mullen, 2008

Lay perspectives on morality. People often see morality as universal, objective and central to the self. Key words: moral conviction, objectivity, self-concept.