psychological experiment A great way to gain insight into human behavior. While many have been replicated, some cannot be operated today due to ethical concerns. Despite this, their influence Psychology It is undisputed. Today, these studies are used everywhere, including to provide insight into depression, behavioral learning, and conformity. They are also widely used in marketing.

Here are the most famous psychological experiments

1. Little Albert Experiment (1920)

Dr. John B. Watson and Rosalie Rainer examine the classical music of Ivan Pavlov conditioning On a nine month old child. Initially, the baby named Albert enjoyed playing with white fluffy objects, but after repeatedly associating these objects with loud sounds, he began to be afraid of them. This experiment showed that people can be conditioned to fear things, helping to explain irrational fear in adults.

2. Stanford Prison Experiment (1971)

Philip Zimbardo’s study at Stanford University examined how people conform to social roles. For the experiment, 24 male college students were assigned roles as prisoners or guards in a mock prison. Over time, Zimbardo observed that people began to conform to their roles, forgetting their individual identities. Furthermore, the experiment had to be discontinued after six days due to increasing misuse. It demonstrated how ordinary people adopt extreme roles, highlighting the power of the social environment in shaping behavior.

3. Ashe Conformity Study (1951)

Solomon Asch studied whether people would conform to false group judgments. In his experiment, Asch selected 50 male college students to participate in a “vision test”. Individuals must determine which line on the card is longer. However, the individuals at the center of the experiment did not know that the other people taking the test were actors following a script, and at times they deliberately chose the wrong answer. Despite knowing the answer, one-third of participants confirmed the wrong group selection. This revealed how individuals often change their opinions to fit in with others.

4. The Bobo Doll Experiment (1961, 1963)

This research, conducted by renowned psychologist Albert Bandura, showed how children learn behavior through observation. For the experiment, they observed children who witnessed adults behaving aggressively toward a Bobo doll. There were others who saw adults behaving cordially towards the dolls. When placed in a room with a doll, children who witnessed aggressive behavior behaved similarly to the doll, compared to children who did not witness aggressive behavior. This study reinforced the idea of ​​social learning, showing that people, especially children, learn by observing others.

5. The Learned Helplessness Experiment (1965)

Martin Seligman studied how animals learn to feel helpless after repeated negative experiences. He conducted his experiment on dogs, who were given a mild electric shock when they heard a bell. They sometimes give up after another negative outcome instead of looking for a positive outcome. Over time, they stopped trying to escape even when the situation changed. This concept, known as learned helplessness, sheds light on depression, explaining how past experiences can make people feel powerless.

6. Milgram Experiment (1963)

Stanley Milgram’s study examined obedience to authority. Participants were asked to deliver increasingly severe shocks to a person (who was actually an actor) for wrong answers in a word game. Despite hearing disturbing voices, 65% of participants obeyed the authority figure. Milgram’s findings help explain how people can follow orders even when they go against their moral beliefs, believing that the authority figure is more knowledgeable.

7. Halo Effect Experiment (1977)

Richard Nisbett and Timothy Wilson studied the halo effect, a cognitive bias where our overall perception of a person influences our judgments about them. In their experiment, students gave more favorable ratings to a teacher when he was affectionate and respectful, and less favorable ratings when he was cold and rude. This showed how first impressions affect how we perceive other traits.

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