Cockroaches, Monsters, and Placebos:

Ten Studies to Promote Student Appreciation for Research in Psychology
Below we list several of our favorite studies (we know that there are more than ten - sue us) that promote appreciation for scientific research in psychology. We have posted space for you to add to this list - What are your nominees for best study to promote appreciations for research? Once we get enough suggestions we plan to add your suggestions to ours, divide this list by sub-discipline, and include a brief explanation of how we use each one in class.

  • Chen, S.C. (1937). Social modification of the activity of ants in nest-building. Physiological Zoology, 10, 420-436.
  • Clark, R. D., & Hatfield, E.  (1989).  Gender differences in receptivity to sexual offers.  Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality, 2, 39-55.
  • Feldman, G., Zayfert, C., Sandoval, L., Dunn, L., Cartreine, J.A. (In Press). Reward Responsiveness And Anxiety Predict Performance Of Mount Everest Climbers. Journal of Research in Personality.
  • Freckleton, W.C., and Wahlsten, D. (1968). Carbon dioxide-induced amnesia in the cockroach, Periplaneta americana. Psychonomic Science, 12, 179-180.
  • Harris, P.L., Brown, E., Marriott, C., Whittall, S. & Harmer, S. (1991) Monsters, ghosts and witches: testing the limits of the fantasy–reality distinction in young children, British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 9, 105–123.
  • Joshua D. Greene, "The secret joke of Kant’s soul", in Moral Psychology, 2008, Vol. 3: The Neuroscience of Morality, W. Sinnott-Armstrong, Ed., (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press).
  • Kahneman, D. & Tversky, A. (1984). Choices, values, and frames. American Psychologist, 39, 341-350.
  • Kruger, J., Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and Unaware of It: How Difficulties in Recognizing One's Own Incompetence Lead to Inflated Self-Assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77, 1121–34.
  • Middlemist, R.D., Knowles, E.S., & Matter, C.F., (1976). Personal Space Invasions in the Lavatory: Suggestive Evidence for Arousal, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 33, 541-546.
  • Minami, H. and Dallenbach, K. (1946). The effect of activity upon learning and retention in the cockroach, Periplaneta americana. American Journal of Psychology, 59, 1-58.
  • Mischel, W., Shoda, Y., & Rodriguez, M. L. (1989). Delay of Gratification in Children. Science, 244, 933-938.
  • Moseley, J.B., O'Malley, K., Petersen, N.J., Menke, T.J., Brody, B.A., Kuykendall, D.H., Hollingsworth, J.C., Ashton, C.M. and Wray, N.P.(2002). A Controlled Trial of Arthroscopic Surgery for Osteoarthritis of the Knee, New England Journal of Medicine,347, 81-88.
  • Schachter, S. (1971). Some extraordinary facts about obese humans and rats. American Psychologist, 26, 129-144.
  • Simons, D. J. & Levin, D.T. (1998), Failure to detect changes to people during a real-world interaction, Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 5, 644–649.
  • Stack, S., & Gundlach, J. (1992). The effect of country music on suicide. Social Forces, 71, 211-218.
  • Travers, J. and Milgram, S. (1969). An experimental study of the Small World problem. Sociometry, 32, 425-443.
  • Wilson, T. D., Lisle, D. J., Schooler, J. W., Hodges, S. D., Klaaren, K. J., & LaFleur, S. J. (1993). Introspecting about reasons can reduce post-choice satisfaction. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 19, 331-331.
  • Zajonc, R.B., Heingartner, A, and Herman, E.M. (1969). Social enhancement and impairment of performance in the cockroach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 13, 83-92.