Learning from Famous Psychology Experiments: A Junior High Schooler's Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.2570Keywords:
Psychology, Famous Experiments, Pavlov's Dogs, Little Albert Experiment, Asch Conformity Experiments, Stanford Prison Experiment, Milgram Obedience Study, Harlow's Monkey Experiments, Bobo Doll Experiment, Robbers Cave Experiment, The Marshmallow Test, The Good Samaritan Study, Pavlov, Watson, Asch, Zimbardo, Milgram, Bandura, Sherif, Mischel, Darley, BatsonAbstract
I've always been interested in finding out more about the causes of why people do what they do. Like, why does my twin sister Arya freak out whenever she sees the tiniest spider possible even though she knows there is no way it can hurt her? Or why do I sometimes go along with what my friends want, even though I want to do something else? Psychology tries to answer these questions by studying how our minds work, and I think that is pretty cool.
Since moving back to the US right after Covid, I have been reading about psychology blogs and experiments whenever I can. Some of these tests are kind of nice and fun while some are really messed up, but they taught me a lot. Being inspired by these earlier readings combined with what I learned during my AP Psychology course in my Junior year, this paper presents my perspective on ten famous psychology experiments.
References
Pavlov, I. P. (1927). Conditioned reflexes: An investigation of the physiological activity of the cerebral cortex.
Watson, J. B., & Raynor, R. (1920). Conditioned emotional reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3(1), 1–14.
Asch, S. E. (1951). Effects of group pressure upon the modification and distortion of judgments. In H. Guetzkow (Ed.), Groups, leadership and men; research in human relations (pp. 177–190). Carnegie Press.
Zimbardo, P. G. (1973). On the ethics of intervention in human psychological research.
Milgram, S. (1963). Behavioral study of obedience. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 67, 371–378.
Harlow, H. F. (1958). The nature of love. American Psychologist, 13, 673-685.
Bandura, A., Ross, D., & Ross, S. A. (1961). Transmission of aggression through imitation of aggressive models. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 63(3), 575–582
Sherif, M. (1954). Experimental study of positive and negative intergroup attitudes between experimentally produced groups: Robbers Cave study. Group Relations, 1(2), 150-178.
Mischel, W., Ebbesen, E. B., & Zeiss, A. R. (1972). Cognitive and attentional mechanisms in delay of gratification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 21(2), 204–218.
Darley, J. M., & Batson, C. D. (1973). From Jerusalem to Jericho: A study of situational and dispositional variables in helping behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 27(1), 100–108.
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