Pyschology FINAL Studies

Observations of Language Patterns

8 month olds listened to a continuous stream of syllables that had rules, “words.” When infants are exposed to non-words in this “language” and words in this “language,” they pay more attention to the nonword.

Warson’s Selection Task

We often struggle to think of tests/instances that would disprove a rule

Duncker Candle Problem

You need to affix a candle to the wall at an elevated height, and light it so that the wax doesn’t hit the table. You have candles, matches, and push pins. Functional fixedness: people often struggle to see alternate uses for an object.

Reason Based Choice

Pick who gets custody between two parents.

Parent A: relatively stable, average income, stable social lief

Parent B: above average income, active social life, lots of work related travel, minor health problems.

Who gets custody? Who is denied custody? Parent B, both times!

Frederick’s Cognitive Reflection Task

Participants are asked two questions in different orders:

What is your general happiness? How often do you go on dates?

When question about happiness was asked first, no correlation between the two. When question about dates is asked first, there is a correlation!

Understanding Uncertainty

We often think we have more control than we do. Paritpcants predicted results of coins lips. They were given rigged feedback in three conditions: random, early losses, and early wins. They were asked how good they were at predicting, early winners thought they were better at predicting. We often fail to appreciate where skill ends and where luck begins.

The Endowment Effect

Buyers Pyschology versus Sellers Pyschology. Once we own something, we demand more to give it up then we would if we didn’t own it.

Hillel Einhorn Studies on Hodgkin’s disease

Experts rated the severity of the disease as well as nine characteristics from the biopsy that were driving their judgement. Einhorn then created a linear regression model using those characteristics to predict severity, and the statistical model was more reliable than the experts. Humans are inconsistent.

Darley and Watson - The Power of the Situation

Seminary students gave a lecture on two topics:

Good Samaritan or Job Propescts for Seminary Students

Some had plenty of time to get to the lecture, others were told they are running late.

Who helps the person in need while they are on the way?

Lecture content did not matter, generally, people who were not in a hurry helped more often and people woh were in a hurry helped less often.

Stanley Miligram Experiment

Obedience to authority and the power of the situation.

Jones and Harris

P’s read pro or anti Fidel Castro essays. They were told essay writers either choose their stance or were assigned to it. Even when they were told they didn’t have a choice, P’s believed the pro-castro writers were pro Castro and the anti were anti Castro!

Rosenthal and Jacobson

Teachers put more effort into students that were late bloomers and in turn these students showed larger IQ gains. Self-Fufilling Prophecies!

Solomon Asch’s Studies on Group Processes/Conformity

Had P’s judge the length of lines. Obvious answer in what was real or not! When the majority of the group said it was the answer though, P’s would fold even though they knew it was wrong.

Sherif’s Autokinetic Effect Studies

Asked people how much a dot moves. Independent estimates of the light’s movements were highly variable, but when people discussed in groups, you start to see convergence.

Other examples of groups making people silly

Some information on the sheets is common, others is uncommon. When p’s come together to discuss, most of the time, they talk about the information that everyone already knows.

Latane and Darley had P’s fl out a questionnaire in a room, either alone or in groups of 3. The people in groups of 3 took longer to get help!

Robbers Cave Study

Phase 1: Groups are not aware of each other

Phase 2: Groups compete against one another

Phase 3: Cooperation on bigger goals

Payne’s Weapon Task

P’s are more likely to falsely categorize a tool as a gun after seeing the face of a Black individual

Mozart listening chickens

More experience means larger preference! Chicks preferred Mozart when they heard more Mozart, and preferred the other composer when they heard that more!

Festnger and Carlsmith

• P’s asked a boring task – turning a bunch of pegs. They are then asked to recruit others for the task by saying that it’s fun. 

• How do people change their attitudes?

• Paid $20: hm this kind of isn’t fun. But for 20 dollars I can lie.

• Paid $1: hmm this kind of isn’t fun. I’m really not a liar, and I can't lie for 1 dollar.

• How to reduce? If the beliefs about the task are not strongly held. 

• 1 dollar p’s rated the task as more enjoyable than the 20 dollars.

• 1 dollar p’s reduced the dissonance by changing their beliefs about the task. 

Dutton and Aron and Emotional Attribution

• P’s walked across either a stury bridge or a shakier suspension bridge. Onec across the bridge, they’re asked by attractive researchers to fill out a questionnaire. The researcher then gives their phone number. How often do people call?

• Suspension bridges were more likely to call because they attributed their physiological response to the bridge as arousal towards the researcher.

Being Sane in Insane Places

None of the imposter patients were caught! This led to more regiourous definitions of psychological disorders (even though it ultimately was not real)

Illusion of transparency

P’s wore embarrassing shirt and were asked how many people they thought would notice. They consistently overestimated how often people would notice.