10 Influential Psychology Experiments
Let’s take a look at 10 of the most influential psychology experiments and explore what we can learn from them.
Disclaimer and Progress Made in Psychological Studies
Prior to reading on, I would like to provide a disclaimer that there are some experiments referenced below that, although they were important studies, are recognized to be harmful and would not be replicated today. There are strict reviews and requirements for studies. So much so, that some argue we are having fewer breakthrough experiments because of the limitations in place.
Experiments
A Class Divided
Summary
In 1968 Jane Elliott conducted an experiment, that was inspired by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and addressed the effects of racism and prejudice. Using her third grade class as the first exercise group, Elliott separated her class into two groups depending on their eye color. For the first day of the experiment, she told the class that the blue-eyed group was the superior group and that they would have extra privileges in class. Further, she discouraged the groups from communicating with each other, and would point out negative characteristics of the minority group. Over the course of the day, the blue-eyed students not only performed better academically, but they also bullied their brow-eyed peers. The following day, Elliott switched the two groups and the blue-eyed students became the minority group.
Take Away
Not only has this study been replicated several times with similar outcomes, it also stresses the importance of equity in the classroom and in all other settings.
Asch Conformity Study
Summary
Dr. Solomon Asch set out to evaluate conformity in a study at Swathmore College in 1951. For this study, a group was shown a picture with three lines of varying length, and asked which line was the longest. This might seem like a straightforward test, but the trick was that only one of the group members was actually a test subject. The other group members were actors who were instructed to give the wrong answer. Oddly enough, even though the answer was apparent, the test subject tended to give the wrong answer that the majority of the group indicated, even though they knew it was wrong.
Take Away
This study stressed the importance of social interactions and the temptation of conformity to a group. It reflects a desire (in most cases) to care more about fitting into a group instead of being right.
Bobo Doll Experiment
Summary
One of the most famous debates in the field of psychology is the idea of Nature vs Nurture. Between 1961 and 1963, Dr. Albert Bandar conducted a study at Stanford University which set out to test the idea of genetics, environmental factors, and social learning on development. Bandar intended to show that social imitation, rather than genetic factors, dictate behavior. In this study, three groups of participants were shown videos of interaction with a “Bobo Doll”. One group saw passive interactions, another saw aggressive play, and one was the control group. After watching the video, it was shown that children exposed to the aggressive play were more likely to be aggressive with the Bobo than the children exposed to passive interactions.
Take Away
How much of our behavior is imitation of what we have seen? How do we serve as an example for how others interact around us?
Hawthorne Effect
Summary
In 1955, Henry A. Landsberger conducted a study at Hawthorne Works in Chicago that would see if humans would change their behavior in an experiment simply because they knew they were being studied. to view this, the study came from analyzing two previous studies in 1924 and 1932 by Elton Mayo that tried to examine if the level of light in an environment impacted worker productivity. Although there was found to be no difference, what was noticed, was that no matter how the variable was changed, the efficiency of the workers still increased. The level of light didn’t matter, but knowing that the individual was being evaluated did.
Take Away
The Hawthorne Effect has been a major factor in research studies as it can influence the results given by participants.
Learned Helplessness Experiment
Summary
Martin Seligman conducted a study in 1967 that continued the works of classical conditioning famously known of Pavlov’s dogs. This study involved an indicator bell and a light shock to a dog. After a few pairings of the bell to the shock, the dog began to predict the shock before it actually came. Eventually the dog would respond to a shock that was not actually happening. This was an expected result, but the second piece of this experiment surprised the researchers. In the next stage of experiments, the dogs were placed in a crate with a short fence dividing the cage in two. One side of the cage would administer a shock with the bell, but the other side did not. The experimenters started the dog on the electrified side and found that when the bell went off, instead of jumping to the other side, the dog laid down. In the previous study, the dog had learned that there was nothing they could do to escape the shock so they gave up. To prove this idea, the experimenters brought in dogs that had not been part of the original study and those dogs would jump to the non-electrified side.
Take Away
Learned helplessness can happen not only to animals, but also to people who have been in negative situations and led to believe that they would not be able to escape what comes next.
Little Albert Experiment
Summary
This study is easily one of the most unethical psychological experiments of all time, conducted in 1920 by John Watson and Rosalie Rayner at Johns Hopkins University. The idea was a simple hypothesis, that a series of pairings could lead to a person developing an irrational fear. To prove this, they conditioned a nine-month-old child, Little Albert, to become terrified of practically everything. To do this, they showed the infant a white rat. Initially there was no reaction, but then Watson began to strike a steel bar with a hammer every time Albert was presented with the rat. After several pairings, Albert began to cry and exhibit fear every time something that looked like a rat showed up in the room. They continued to do this with other animals like rabbits, and then with object and characters like Santa.
Take Away
I wish I could say that there was a happy outcome from this study, but as one could imagine, banging a steel bar with a hammer to make a piercing sound and conditioning a baby to be afraid of practically everything does not lead to a happy story. “Little Albert”, actually a child named Douglas, died at the age of 6 from excessive build-up of fluid in the brain.
Selective Attention/Invisible Gorilla Experiment
Summary
In 1999, Simons and Chabris conducted a famous awareness test at Harvard University. to do this, the researchers filmed a vide of people playing basketball. Some players wore white shirts and participants were tasked with watching the video and counting how many times the ball was passed between players on the white team. The video continues and most people were identify the correct number of passes, but most completely missed the man in a gorilla suit who walked around on the court and stood in the middle of the screen before walking off.
Take Away
This proved that we often focus in on tasks at hand and that we overestimate our ability to multitask without missing other important details.
Stanford Prison Study
Summary
One of the most famous studies of all time is the Stanford Prison Study conducted by Philip Zimbardo in 1971. Zambardo wanted to study the behavior of individuals when given a role. To do this, they created a fake prison in Stanford University where some participants were guards and some were inmates. The study was initially designed to run for two weeks but eventually the guards became abusive towards the inmates and the study had to be called early after a few days when inmates showed signs of reading down mentally.
Take Away
This study, although there are debated factors about Zimbardo’s influence on the outcome and behavior of the guards, it was found how impactful situations are on human behavior and how conditions can influence behavior.
Stanley Milgram Experiment
Summary
In 1961, again at Stanford University, Stanley Milgram conducted a widely remembered study designed to evaluate an individual’s willingness to obey authority figures even in contexts that would harm others. The participants were told that this study would be a test on memory and learning. They were asked to oversee another individual (an actor) complete a memory test. For each incorrect answer, the participant was to give an electric shock of increasing voltages. Although there was no actual shock, the actors were to pretend as though they were being shocked. The experimenter in the room had a script to encourage the participant to continue the experiment even when they objected to increasing the voltage, even to what some thought would be a lethal amount.
Take Away
This experiment reflected the influence that authority figures have on obedience and that a human might be conditioned to follow authority even if it goes against their moral beliefs.
The Marshmallow Test
Summary
The Marshmallow Test is easily one of the most adorable studies ever. If not, it is certainly the winner of this list. In 1972, at Stanford University, Walter Mitchell set out to study whether or not delayed gratification could be an indicator of future success. For this experiment, children aged four to six were placed alone in a room with a single marshmallow and given an instruction. The experimenter informed the children that they would receive a second marshmallow if the experimenter returned and found the initial marshmallow still on the table. The examiner then recorded how long the children resisted eating the marshmallow. Only a few ate the marshamllow immediately, with one third delaying long enough to get the second marshmallow. In future studies of the same participants, it was found that those who deferred gratification had better academic performance than their peers.
Take Away
This study indicated the presence of individual traits that can potentially predict future success. Simply put, those who know the taste of two marshmallows will be sweeter than the taste of one may be the wisest of us all.
How Experiments Can Improve Your Life
Life is essentially one giant experiment of trying things and seeing if they work. Think about it. When you are a baby, you try all kinds of things, constantly, and then you fall asleep or forget they existed in the first place. Then you crawl, so that you can try more things. Next, you walk, run, skip, drive, fly, etc. We have countless habits that have become unconscious second nature. Things like: which shoe or pant leg we put on first, which way we move the spoon in cereal (there is a “correct” way apparently that gives less milk dribble), or what ways we get from one location to another. Once we find something that works, we tend to stick with it, even if it isn’t the best way for us to go about it. Trying new experiments in unique and creative ways allows us to find what works best for us and makes life easier.
Call-To-Action
What might be an experiment you want to give a try? Maybe commit to an idea for the next 30 days, next week, each day, or even for one night. It is never too late to try something new and you may just find what you have been looking for that you never knew was there to find.
