All DP1 psych studies

Clever Hans

a horse appeared to do math but was actually reading subtle unconscious cues from people around him; showed researcher bias and demand characteristics in research

Little Albert (Watson and Rayner)

conditioned a baby to fear a white rat by pairing it with a loud noise; fear generalized to other furry things; showed fear can be learned through classical conditioning but raised major ethical concerns since Albert was never deconditioned

Sears (1986)

found that over two thirds of psychological research uses only university students as participants; students are not representative because they have high need for peer approval, were pre-selected for cognitive ability, and are more egocentric than adults

Heinrich, Heine and Norenzayan (2010)

found that 67% of American psych research uses undergrad students and 98% of all psychology samples come from countries that make up only 12% of the world population; coined the term WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic)

Festinger et al. (1956)

studied a doomsday cult that doubled down on their beliefs when the predicted end of the world did not happen; demonstrated cognitive dissonance and how people change their thinking to relieve the discomfort of being wrong

Loftus and Palmer (1974)

showed participants car crash videos and asked questions using different verbs like smashed vs hit; participants who heard smashed estimated higher speeds and were more likely to report seeing broken glass that was not there; showed leading questions distort memory

Koluchova (1972)

prospective case study of identical Czech twin boys found at age 7 after being locked in a cellar and abused; after adoption their IQ rose significantly and by 14 they had caught up academically; showed early deprivation does not necessarily determine outcomes if intervention happens early enough

Cohen (1993)

gave 276 healthy participants stress tests then exposed them to a cold virus or saline placebo; people with high stress for a month or more were over twice as likely to get sick; showed a direct link between psychological stress and physical health

Marmot et al. (1997)

five year case study of over 7000 British civil servants; found that the most significant factor in cardiovascular health was how much control participants felt they had at work; less control meant worse health outcomes

Bowlby Internal Working Model (1973)

the bond between a child and their primary caregiver creates a mental framework that shapes how they see themselves and others for life; responsive caregivers lead to positive models; unresponsive caregivers lead to negative models

Ainsworth Strange Situation (1970)

structured observation where the mother left and returned multiple times; identified three attachment types: Type A insecure avoidant (ignored caregiver), Type B secure (upset but easily comforted), Type C insecure ambivalent (distressed and hard to comfort)

Luby et al. (2013)

found poverty is linked to reduced brain development in children; however nurturing caregiving could improve brain development even in poverty while stress and hostility made outcomes worse; showed parenting quality can buffer or worsen effects of poverty

Kar et al. (2008)

studied malnourished children and found they performed worse on cognitive tasks like memory and attention; showed a direct biological link between nutrition and brain function

Farah et al. (2008)

studied 110 African American children at ages 4 and 8; stimulating home environments led to better language skills and nurturing parents led to better long term memory; showed environment and parenting quality directly affect brain development

Noble et al. (2005)

found that children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds performed worse on cognitive tests; showed poverty directly and negatively impacts cognitive development

Rutter et al. (2007)

studied Romanian orphans and found the longer they spent in institutions the more severe their cognitive and attachment problems; early adoption significantly reduced these effects; showed there is a sensitive period for development but intervention can make a big difference

Werner and Smith (1992)

longitudinal study that followed high risk children and found some still developed successfully despite early adversity; showed early hardship does not automatically determine outcomes and that resilience is possible

Vygotsky (1973)

argued that social interaction especially through play helps children develop cognitive tools; children encouraged to read play instruments or do sports get intellectual and social stimulation; poverty and lack of education reduce these opportunities

Aranbarri et al. (2023)

studied 506 Spanish mothers and their children; found higher socioeconomic status led to better home environments fewer mental health issues and more access to childcare all of which positively affected children's early cognitive development tested at 26 months

Pepler and Ross (1981)

tested how divergent vs convergent play affects problem solving; children in divergent open ended play showed more flexible and creative thinking compared to those in convergent play with only one right answer

Russ, Robins and Christiano (2010)

longitudinal study that found children who engaged in more imaginative pretend play developed better divergent thinking and creativity over time

Lillard et al. (2013)

review of studies that found no clear evidence that pretend play directly causes improvements in creativity or problem solving; the relationship may not actually be causal

Cermakova et al. (2018)

longitudinal study that found people with low childhood socioeconomic status had lower cognitive scores in adulthood but SES did not affect the rate of cognitive decline over time; just the starting point

Simons and Chabris (1999)

gorilla experiment where participants counting basketball passes failed to notice a person in a gorilla suit; demonstrated selective attention and how focusing on one thing causes us to miss other things

Broadbent Filter Model (1958)

model of selective attention suggesting the brain works like a bottleneck filtering out information based on physical features so only one stream of information gets fully processed at a time

Schneider and Shiffrin (1977)

developed the automaticity model arguing that with enough practice certain tasks become automatic and no longer require conscious attention; supported by the Stroop effect

Geng et al. (2019)

suggested the most important strategy for learning to focus is training yourself to filter out distractions; familiar or habituated distractions are easier to filter than new unfamiliar ones

Rosenberg et al. (2015)

used fMRI scans and found stronger brain connections in certain areas were linked to better focus and fewer ADHD symptoms while weaker connections were linked to more severe symptoms

Durston et al. (2003)

used fMRI during a Go No Go task and found children with ADHD showed less activation in the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia suggesting weaker attention control and impulse regulation

Volkow et al. (2009)

used PET scans and found people with ADHD have lower dopamine activity leading to reduced motivation and difficulty maintaining attention

Chang et al. (2013)

longitudinal twin study that found higher concordance for ADHD in identical twins than fraternal twins showing a strong genetic component to the condition

Kokoc et al. (2022)

found a positive correlation between playing multiplayer video games and sustained attention measured using computer based tests

Ward et al. (2017)

found that just having your phone nearby even face down and off reduces attention a