aims of studies

Maguire et al.

To investigate whether the brains of London taxi drivers would be different as a result of their exceptional knowledge of the city.

Draganski et al.

To see whether learning a new skill — juggling — would affect the brains of participants.

Rogers & Kesner

To determine the role of acetylcholine in the formation of spatial memory.

Ronay & Von Hippel

To investigate whether male risk-taking behavior increases in the presence of attractive women (evolutionary explanation).

Caspi et al.

To investigate the role of the 5-HTT gene in depression following exposure to stressful life events.

Brunner et al.

To study a Dutch family with a history of antisocial behavior to determine if a genetic mutation could explain their behavior.

Zhou et al.

To investigate whether human pheromones (AND/EST) influence sexual perception.

Meaney et al.

To investigate how maternal care affects gene expression and stress regulation in rats.

Brewer & Treyens

To investigate the role of schema in encoding and recalling objects in an office setting.

Murdock

To investigate the serial position effect in recall and provide support for the multi-store model of memory.

Landry & Bartling

To investigate the effect of articulatory suppression on the working memory model.

Englich & Mussweiler

To investigate the effect of anchoring bias in courtroom sentencing decisions.

Sharot et al.

To investigate the neural basis of flashbulb memory in relation to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Loftus & Pickrell

To determine if false memories could be created through suggestion.

Bandura et al.

To investigate whether children can learn aggressive behavior through observational learning.

Harris & Fiske

To investigate the biological correlates of dehumanization toward extreme out-groups using fMRI.

Steele & Aronson

To test the effect of stereotype threat on performance in African American students.

Fagot

To examine how parents treat boys and girls differently and how this influences gender-role enculturation.

Lueck & Wilson

To investigate which factors predict acculturative stress in Asian-American immigrants.

Berry

To investigate the role of cultural values (individualism vs collectivism) in conformity behavior.

Wedekind

To investigate whether differences in MHC genes influence mate selection based on scent.

Ditzen et al.

To examine the role of oxytocin in improving communication between couples during conflict.

Markey & Markey

To examine whether people are more attracted to others with similar personalities.

Taylor et al.

To investigate whether physical attractiveness influences the perception of romantic potential (matching hypothesis).

Festinger et al.

To examine the impact of proximity on friendship formation among college students.

Gupta & Singh

To compare levels of marital satisfaction in love marriages versus arranged marriages over time.

Collins & Miller

To investigate the role of self-disclosure in liking and relationship development.

Felmlee

To test the fatal attraction hypothesis — the idea that the very traits which initially attract people may later lead to breakup.

Gottman & Levenson

To identify communication behaviors that could predict marital breakdown over time.